This Shameless Moment
by MittensBee
Summary: When Bella unknowingly asks vampire Edward to be her roommate, she gets more than she bargained for. She finds herself sucked into a world which, by all reason, should not exist. BxE. AU. OOC.
1. Chapter One

I glanced at my phone as I pushed through the doors of my apartment building and into the thick, sultry heat of Chicago summers. Even at eleven fifty-nine in the evening, it was still uncomfortably warm. I pulled my hair away from my neck, entertaining the idea of going back to my apartment and getting an elastic. Laziness won out in the end, though, and I continued on my journey.

I was headed for my professor's place, an apartment that was about a twenty minute walk away. It was in an alright part of town, as was my own residence. Crime was not common, but my decision to walk alone down a street at night was not prudent.

With that thought in mind, I walked quickly, peering over my shoulder every now and then. Maybe my professor would give me money for a cab ride back later, or drive me back himself. Maybe he would let me stay the night.

I passed a dark alley and the hair on my neck stood on end. I looked into it as I passed by and saw nothing. Relief washed over me. As my heartbeat sped up, I began to walk faster. I felt like I was being watched.

Then I felt someone grab me by the hair and pull me back. I fell to the ground. When I looked up around me, there were five men standing above me. I was momentarily speechless. I held the back of my head; it had hit the pavement and was throbbing. They were smiling, laughing.

"What do you want?" I finally managed to say.

One of them stepped over me, bent down and grabbed me by my neck, pulling me up. I noticed how cold his hands were. I looked at him. His hair was a shade of blonde. He was very pale. His skin was so white that he nearly glowed in the dark of the night. But perhaps the most upsetting characteristic of the man was his eyes- They were glowing red.

I began to scream, both in fear and in pain- Being drug up to a standing position by my neck was not exactly pleasant. But the man covered my mouth. "It won't do you any good."

"Let me go!" I cried.

"Don't worry, we will," he said. His words did not bring me any comfort.

But suddenly, I felt at complete ease. Intellectually, I knew that I should be scared, that I should try to fight this man off of me, but I was not scared anymore. At all. I was at ease when he pulled my hands behind my back and held them together effortlessly with just one hand. I was at ease when he called for his friends to go get someone from the shadows. I was at ease when his friends emerged from the alley with a rather reluctant looking man with them. I could tell he did not want to be here, that he probably did not even wish to be in the company of the others.

His friends shoved him towards me and underneath the streetlight. He had a flash of bronze-colored hair. He, too, was practically luminescent with his pale skin. But his eyes, they were not red. No, they were black. I felt fear creeping into my conscious again, but it was quickly extinguished.

"What do you think of her, Edward? Doesn't she smell just...Tempting?" I heard the blonde one say behind me.

"Guys, just drop this," he pleaded.

"Oh, come on. This is what we are. Don't try to pretend you're above this. Come on, do it."

With that, the blonde man slid his cold hand under my jaw and pulled my chin up, fully exposing my neck.

The others held Edward by his arms and pushed him even closer towards me.

"Drink, drink, drink, drink," they started to chant.

I was confused. Drink what? Why were they pushing Edward to me? He was about a foot away from me now.

Then, all my comfort and ease completely disappeared. I was scared. My heartbeat sped up, my stomach churned, tears sprang to my eyes. I started to cry, to beg, to plead, though my appeals were muffled due to fact that the blonde one still held my jaw and chin.

"It's right there, Edward," he said as the others continued chanting. "We all know how thirsty you are. Your eyes are totally black. And she, she smells better than anything we've come across in awhile. We won't hold it against you."

Edward was silent as they pushed him closer to my neck, he looked to be in deep thought. His eyes caught mine. I tried to put every ounce of emotion I had into my eyes. I prayed that he would see something in them to keep him from doing whatever it was they were egging him on to do. If he felt any pity for me, I could not tell. His eyes were completely black and conveyed nothing.

"Drink, drink, drink," the chanting was getting mind-numbing.

I looked at Edward. I saw him coming in for my neck. I closed my eyes firmly, preparing myself for whatever pain awaited me.

Instead, I heard the blonde cry out in pain. I felt him release me.

I began to run. I ran as fast as I could, and did not look back. I heard yelling and cursing and fighting. I wanted to look back, but curiosity would not kill this cat. I ran until I arrived to my professor's apartment.

I beat on his door. He opened the door, looking angry. "Bella, please! Be quiet!" I did not say anything, but instead immediately leapt onto him, hugging him tightly. He backed up inside the apartment, me still attached to him. He pulled me off of him and looked at me. I was still crying. His demeanor softened, "What's wrong? What happened?"

I sat down on the black leather sofa, running my hands through my hair. I breathed heavily, out of breath from running so much and crying at the same time.

He grabbed my elbow as he sat next to me, "What happened to your elbow, Bella?"

I told him the entire story. He stroked my hair and patted my back as I recounted everything. "Oh, I'm so sorry. We have to call the police right now," he said as he held me and grabbed for the phone on the coffee table in front of us.

"No!" I exclaimed. "I mean, I didn't really get a good look at them and the chances of finding them are slim. It could have been anyone."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure," I nodded. My tears had stopped now.

"Is there anything I can do then?"

"Carlisle, can I...Can I please spend the night?" He sighed. "Or can you stay with me? I'm just really scared. I don't want to sleep alone."

"Bella, we've been through this. If Esme were to unexpectedly come home tomorrow morning, we wouldn't ever get to see each other at all."

"What if she came home right now?"

"Finding a teacher and his student in the teacher's living room is easier to explain away than finding a teacher and his student in his bedroom."

"Then let's stay at my place tonight. Please," I held his hand and frowned.

Carlisle sighed. But then he smiled, "Alright. We'll stay at your place for tonight. You have been through an awful lot tonight. Let's clean up those scraped elbows, though."

He led me to his kitchen where he searched for antiseptic and bandaids.

"Will it always be like this?" I asked as he was looking through the lower cabinets.

"Like what?" he replied without looking up.

"Will we always have to be sneaking around Esme?"

Carlisle looked up, "Are you asking if I will ever leave Esme?"

"I guess, yes. Basically. I mean, do you know how great it would be to come over here whenever I liked? To not have to worry about her coming home early? For us to just be able to lay in bed for days at a time without that constant fear in the back of our minds?"

"That would be nice, yes. I'm not denying that. But, Bella, divorce is expensive. The lawyers and the papers and the court dates. I'm a professor. I'm not exactly made of money."

"Then save up!" I replied exasperatedly.

Carlisle ignored my suggestion and instead pulled out some antiseptic and a bandaid. He gently cleaned off the dried blood from my elbows. The hydrogen peroxide burned as he glided it across the wound. He placed bandaids over them and then softly kissed them. He gave me a grin. That grin that had made me weak on the first day of cell biology a year ago still made my stomach do flip flops and my heartbeat skip. Everything was okay when he gave me that grin.

He pulled me closer to him, "I'm glad you're okay. From now on I'll come pick you up or just come over to your place."

I smiled, "Thank you."

"So," his tone turned mischievous, "Is there anything else I can do to make you feel better?"

I laughed, "I can think of a few things."

"Oh really?" Carlisle laughed, too, before kissing me. "Like what?"

"Hmm, why don't you take me to your room and we'll go over the options?"

With that, Carlisle swept me up into his arms and carried me to his bedroom. He laid me on the bed, perpendicular to the edge. He kissed my collarbone and ran his hands up my thin white tank top while he still stood. He pulled back for a moment to unbutton his own shirt, and I studied his face. His golden blonde hair contrasted against his suntanned skin and brown eyes. His features were perfect. I could not believe that a man like Carlisle Cullen would have the slightest interest in a girl like me. I was incredibly lucky.

Later that night, I could not sleep. We had come back to my apartment after a quickie at Carlisle's. After being at my place for about an hour, we had sex again. Carlisle was now asleep next to me. But my mind was still on my run-in with that group of men earlier. I kept thinking about how that blonde man's skin was so cold against my own. How his eyes glowed at me.

But most of all, I thought of the boy with bronze hair and black, empty eyes. I wondered why he had hurt my captor instead of me, why he hurt someone he knew and let me escape. Why was he with a group of people whom he had obviously disliked? What was he, that the blonde boy said he could not pretend he was not? Why was he fighting against his own nature? What was his nature? But still, I wondered why he defied his 'friends' and helped me escape.

Edward had been his name.

"Thank you, Edward," I said aloud into the quiet darkness of my room.

Carlisle stirred, "Wha? Hm? Did you say something?" he mumbled, half asleep.

"Nothing," I replied. Carlisle mumbled something again before turning over and his breathing slowed. He was asleep again.

And my eyes, too, grew heavy.

**A/N: So yeah..I should be studying for my final exams, but this came to my head so I wrote it down tonight instead haha. So let's hope I don't fail my exams tomorrow morning. So! Bella and Carlisle..Weird. Just writing their minor kissing scene was really strange for me, haha. And just so everyone is clear, Carlisle and Esme are definitely not vampires, lol. Review if you like. I might continue with this..I do have an idea of how I would like for it to go, but at the same time, I could leave it as is and just have it be a one-shot. So yeah...If you want MOAR just review :)**


	2. Chapter 2

I was going to do it.

I really was, I promise. I was going to take what I wanted so badly. I was going to rip into that girls throat with the ferocity that only the starving can muster. I would feel her warm, red blood swirl in my mouth and down my throat. I would feel the life drain from her and into me. For a brief moment, I would attain her humanity.

I was so thirsty. I had not fed in weeks. I could hear her heartbeat, the pulse beneath the fragile and thin of her ivory neck. The scent of her blood brought the venom racing to my mouth, coating my teeth.

Killing the girl was not an experience my civilized side would enjoy. She was young, nineteen perhaps. Probably a student. She had probably just left a friend or a boyfriend's apartment and was heading home for the night. She was prepossessing with her long mahogany hair, fair skin, rosy cheeks, and wide brown eyes.

Wide brown eyes that were staring right into mine. The stare was intense and determinate. What I saw was not anger or fear or even judgement. No, what I saw was something unexpected. I saw innocence, naivety, purity. I saw trust.

It was as if she believed that I could resist her. That she knew that if she could just get me to see something in her, that she knew I would not hurt her. She appealed to my humanity. Funny, I always forget I still possess it.

My mouth inched closer and closer to the young girl's flawless neck, Jasper's taunts and his friend's chants rang in my ears, and I felt her warm breath as she exhaled heavily in sobs. Drink, drink, drink, drink.

I wanted to drink. I wanted to suck the life right out of her.

It was then I realized something. I could not hear this girl's thoughts. Surely at a time like this she would be having some type of thought. I looked at her briefly, questioningly. Again, all that stared back at me was a pair of chocolate brown eyes.

I could resist her. I had to resist her.

I went in for her throat, but instead of my teeth landing onto her soft skin, they sunk into Jasper's scarred flesh.

I would pay for this, no doubt. Jasper and his friends were older than me, and far more experienced with fighting, but I was the youngest. I was faster and stronger than all of them. I could fight them long enough to distract them and let the girl escape. They wouldn't follow after her- she meant nothing. She just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. There were plenty others that would be able to replace her later, after they dealt with me.

Jasper yelled and instinctively dropped the girl. She set off running immediately. She did not look back as I watched her run. I felt Jasper's friend, James, grab my arms as Jasper punched me in the gut. I easily broke free of James' grasp and lunged back at Jasper. I tore his arm off. It would not kill him, no, but that was not my intention. I just wanted to buy myself time. Vladimir and Stefan, both extremely old, were mistaken in thinking they could take care of me. They saw me as weak because I had certain reservations about feeding on humans; but that weakness extended only so far as to my apparent psychological condition. Physically, fighting off Vladimir and Stefan was almost as easy as fighting off a human.

Just then, a police officer drove by us. Seeing our squabble, he stopped his squad car and got out. "Is there a problem here boys?" his hand was on his gun.

Before I could blink, James and Laurent pounced on the unsuspecting man. He did not even have time to scream.

Seeing that the two strongest vampires were busy, and that Jasper was off searching for his arm (I suppose I had thrown it off rather far in my haste), I decided to make a run for it. After feeding, they would all be in a better mood when they arrived back to where we were staying for the time being.

I ran to our temporary residence on the other side of town, drinking the blood of whatever animal I came across, which was mostly squirrels. There were a few raccoons and opossums. All were small findings individually, but as a whole were good enough to satiate me.

I arrived to our makeshift home, a small four bedroom, two bathroom house, to discover they were already there.

"What the hell, man?" Jasper immediately confronted me.

I was silent.

"No, really, just what the hell was that for? Ripping my fucking arm off was not your only other option if you didn't want to kill her. You could have you know, just not bit her."

"And leave her to your mercy?!" I replied.

"What? Christ, Edward. I know you care about those things, but since when do you start caring enough to actively deter us, your own kind, from taking what is naturally ours?"

"She was just a kid, Jasper."

"You're disgusting, you know that? You know they dream about becoming like us? Most of them would easily give their lives to be like us. We have a gift...And you waste yours by controlling the pet population. Pathetic."

"Oh, lay off him," I heard Rosalie's feminine voice say as she entered the living room. "He's young. Didn't you have the slightest bit of...Self-hate when you were first changed?" Despite Rosalie's bitchier qualities, she did often take my side when it came to this. She had only partially accepted the fact that she was a vampire now. She enjoyed the perks, killed people, but if someone had offered her a chance to be a human again, she would have given it all up in an instant.

"He's ninety years old. He should embrace what he is by now. There's no point in pretending that he's not," James spoke up. "Besides, if they had the chance, all those people he resists, they'd kill him."

"Yeah, that girl would not have been so merciful had she been able to actually hurt you," Laurent chimed.

"She's not like that," I replied without thinking.

"And you know this how?"

Because I saw it in her. She was good. But I couldn't tell everyone that unless I wanted to be teased even more incessantly. "I'm not arguing about this with you all anymore. I'm going to my room," I threw up my hands.

As I left, their thoughts amalgamated in my head. They could all be summed up in one simple phrase. _What a waste._

I sat on the sofa in my room and turned on the TV to watch the weather forecast. The next few days would be sunny. I sighed. That meant being stuck in this house with them all day for two days. Ah well, at least there was nightfall.

The sound of the TV quickly became background noise once my mind started to wander back to the brown-eyed girl. I had saved her life tonight. But some other night would be her night to die. Maybe the cause would be a vampire. But probably, she would die of natural causes. I wouldn't be able to save her from that.

I wondered what her life would be like, between the few minutes I saw her and her last breaths. She would do all the regular things- marriage, children. But there was also something obviously irregular about her. I had looked into many pairs of eyes as they realized death was running towards them at full speed, and never had a pair looked at mine as hers had. Then there was the entire issue of my inability to read her mind. It was a slight relief, not being bombarded by her thoughts. Real, total silence. Only my own thoughts running through my mind. I wondered why I couldn't read her mind. Was there something wrong with me? Or rather something wrong with her?

I briefly entertained the idea of tracking the girl down. Her scent had been strong, abnormally so. It was still fresh in my mind. I could probably do it.

I laughed aloud at myself. I was allowing a simple human girl to get to me like this. Ridiculous. Pathetic. James was probably right; had she the means to kill me or all of us earlier tonight, she probably would have. She would have not shown me the same courtesy.

But at the same time, I refused to believe that. There was a goodness in her face that could not be feigned. She was real, she was genuine, and she was kind. I knew this for a fact, and I would not let Jasper and his friends take it away from me. Yes, all she and I really had was a glance, but I believe it was Hugo that said the power of a glance has been so abused throughout history that it's lost its force, but it is no less real.

I did have one wish, though. That she had at least looked over her shoulder to give me one last look. A silent thank you.

I wanted to thank her, too.

**A/N: So I'm not totally satisfied with this buuut whatever. I'm tired. I have finals. I need sleep. And thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter :) Y'all rock :) And if anyone is curious as to what Edward was talking about with the glance, it's a Hugo quote. It's, "The power of a glance has been so much abused in love stories that it has come to be disbelieved. Few people dare say nowadays that two beings have fallen in love because they have looked at each other. Yet that is the way love begins, and only that way." So yeah...There ya go! Review if you like :)**


	3. Chapter 3

I was in a forest. Everything was different shades of green, even the bark of the trees. I was utterly alone. No animals, no people. Just me and the trees. Everything was still, everything was peaceful. I looked around further to discover in the sea of green, a giant black hill. Looking at the hill, I inexplicably became nervous and began ringing my hands. I looked around. I no longer felt like I was alone. The once peaceful silence was now daunting.

I kept looking back to the hill. Something about it made me nervous. Finally, I looked at it once again. It turned white. I was overcome with fear and began to breathe heavily and quickly. My eyes widened. I did not want to look at it anymore, but I could not look away.

And just as my heartbeat began to slow down, two giant black eyes appeared on the hill.

I screamed.

"Bella! Bella!" someone shook my arm.

My eyes immediately shot open to see my roommate, Alice, standing above me. I looked around. I was no longer in a forest. There was no longer a hill with black eyes. I was in the University Library with Alice.

"Are you okay?" Alice looked at me, her bright green eyes a stark contrast between her shoulder-length black hair and fair skin.

I sat up straight and ran a hand through my hair, "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just...Bad dream," I muttered.

"Is it him again?"

Today was not the first time I had dreamt of a pair of black eyes staring at me. No, I had been having dreams wherein they made appearances, whether as the main attraction or as simply sideshows, for the past three weeks. Sometimes they were frightening, sometimes they were not. But they were always unsettling.

"Who else would it be?" I sighed and shuffled through my papers to see where I had left off in my work before falling asleep.

"Maybe you should see a therapist or something. I mean, maybe it's post-traumatic stress disorder or something. I know nothing bad happened, but you were accosted by a group of strange men...That can be traumatizing. And to keep having dreams about one of the men in particular, well that's traumatizing, too. Who knows how long you'll keep having these dreams if you don't see someone about it."

I just shrugged and continued with my work, a paper for my British literature class. My dreams about Edward were strange and sometimes scary, but I didn't care. At least, not enough to pay a shrink to get rid of them for me. Although I had found it odd that my dreams were always about Edward, rather than his red-eyed comrades.

My phone rang. The caller ID said Work. "Hello?"

"Bella?" my co-worker, Angela, greeted me on the other end.

"Yeah?"

"Did you plan on coming into work today?" My mind raced. What time was it? A quick look at my watch revealed that I was a half hour late for my job at a small, hole-in-the-wall bookstore.

"Oh my god, Angela. I am so sorry. I fell asleep at the library. I'll be there in a half hour, I swear," I said as I stood up and stuffed my things into my bag. I hung up and looked to Alice, "I'm late for work, but I'll see you tonight, ok?"

I didn't wait for her response and ran out of the library and into what was apparently a rain shower. I cursed my luck; I hadn't brought an umbrella with me today. Thank heaven for the train.

Forty five minutes later, I arrived to work, soaked to the bone. "Finally," Angela said as I walked through the door of the small bookstore. She immediately grabbed her umbrella and started to leave. "Sorry I can't stay and talk, but tonight's mine and Ben's three year anniversary. I really have to go get ready for dinner. And don't worry. No one's going to see you looking like a wet dog. It's been really slow today with this weather."

With that, Angela disappeared onto the rainy and overcast street outside the bookshop. I put my purse under the counter and walked around the store quickly to discover that Angela had not been lying. Today was apparently a slow day- The store was empty, save myself. So I went back to the counter, pulled my purse out, and took out my school work.

Customers trickled in and out every now and then, some buying books, some just browsing. The bell on the door would ring whenever someone entered or exited, so I always knew when to look up to greet a customer.

It was 8:50 in the evening- Ten minutes until closing time. The bell jingled as someone entered the shop. I looked up quickly from my book to greet them, "Hey, how are you?" I said before looking back down. Just as I looked down, I realized the man that had just entered the shop looked familiar. I looked up again, only to see no one. Not even the bell was still jingling on the door. I know I had seen it- A shock of bronze hair. It was an odd and rare hair color, not one you would mistake for another.

I chuckled to myself. I was letting this Edward thing go too far. First the dreams, now hallucinations? Maybe Alice was onto something with her talk of the therapist. I settled back down into my book. 8:52. I hoped there would be no stragglers coming in at 8:59. Tonight Alice and I planned to hang out with her brother Emmett and my friend Jacob. Carlisle had gone with Esme to visit her parents for the weekend. She had originally planned on going by herself, but Carlisle offered to go with her at the last minute. It irritated me, but at the same time, I was in no position to ask anything of him. I wondered what I would wear to Emmett's tonight.

I was suddenly broken from my thoughts when a copy of the complete works of Goethe fell heavily on the counter in front of me. I looked up. It was him.

He was paler than I had remembered. His eyes weren't even black like they were in my memory- They were a warm golden brown. He seemed taller now. The only ways I knew that this was really Edward were his distinct hair color and rare and strongly masculine jaw and bone structure. He was looking down at me with an expressionless face. Did he remember me? I wanted to say something, but would probably look foolish if I did.

"Is this...Is this all for you today?" I asked, my voice just barely steady.

"Yes, it is," he replied. His voice was calm, smooth, controlled.

I went about ringing it up, "It's gonna be forty-five oh-three." He handed me a fifty dollar bill.

"Do you enjoy Goethe?" he asked in a sure tone.

I shrugged, "Well, honestly the only thing I ever read by him was _The Sorrows of the Young Werther_. But I did enjoy it, yes."

"What are you reading?" His eyes fell onto my book for British literature.

"Oscar Wilde. _The Picture of Dorian Grey_. It's for a class I'm taking."

"Summer class?"

"Yeah, I thought if I wasn't going home for the summer I might as well get ahead in my credit hours," I replied, looking at his eyes which had grown slightly wide and curious. He looked quite innocent. But I then remembered how odd this situation was. This man and his friends had attacked me on the deserted streets almost a month ago. He had let me go, he had saved me. And here I was acting like I'd never seen him before. Even stranger was his behavior. He had to remember me.

I gave him his change. I had to ask him. "Have we met?"

He did not seem surprised that I had asked. "Yes," he quietly replied.

"On the street, that night. That was you, wasn't it?"

"It was. I'm sorry..That was, um," he rubbed the back of his neck as he searched for words, "My friends are -."

"Oh, don't apologize. You help me get out of there. I've been wanting to thank you for awhile now. I just didn't think I'd ever see you again to do it. So thanks..Really," I ran a hand through my hair.

"No thanks necessary. It was the right thing to do."

"Besides, I could tell they weren't really your friends. You seem to good for them. You are too good for them."

He slightly laughed, "I guess they're not friends in the traditional sense of the word, no. But they're all I have really."

"That's too bad," I said as I handed him his book. "Thanks again." I looked at the clock, nine o'clock on the dot. He started to leave, and I can't offer an explanation for why I did what I was about to do. "You know, if you need friends, in the traditional sense of the word, I'm going to catch up with some of mine after I close up here. You can come with me, if you'd like. It's nothing fancy, just me and a few other people hanging out."

He turned back to look at me, a foot already out the door. He seemed to be thinking for a minute. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. It can be my thank you for not assaulting me gift." I smiled at him. What I was doing was stupid- Inviting a perfect stranger to Emmett's. But people would be around, it would not be as if I had invited him back to my place where he and I would be alone. And I figured, he had a chance to hurt me before, and he didn't. And right now he could have very easily done whatever he like with me in this empty bookstore, but he didn't.

"Well, if you're sure then. Yeah. I'll just read while you close. Do you need help or anything, though? I can help."

"Nah, I just have to count out the register. Angela, er, the other girl that works here, will do stock in the morning. It'll take me like a half hour, tops." It just then occurred to me that I had never introduced myself, "I'm Bella Swan, by the way. I don't think I told you that."

"Ah, you hadn't. Edward Masen," he held out his hand. I leaned over the counter to reach it.

"Are you cold?" I asked, his hand was freezing, "I can turn down the air condition if you like."

"Oh, no. It's just..I have poor circulation in my hands."

"Alright, well, you can sit out here in this chair," I pointed to the lone lazy boy chair in the store, "Or you can come sit in the back with me."

"I'll sit out here. I don't want to distract you from your work," he replied as he sat down in the large recliner and opened his book.

I nodded before disappearing to the back of the store to count up the register. It took me about twenty minutes, less than the half hour I had predicted to Edward. I put the money in the safe and went back out to Edward in the store. "Ready to go?" I said. I got my bag, pulled out my keys, and placed my _Dorian Grey_ inside.

Edward smiled when he saw me and stood up, carrying his Goethe and an umbrella. "Glad to see you have one," I looked outside, it was still raining, "I forgot mine today. It was sunny when I left the apartment this morning."

"Well then we can share it," he replied, opening the door for me. He opened the umbrella also, and held it above me as I locked the bookstore door.

We began walking along the street to Emmett's, "It's quite a long walk from here. Would you rather take the rain?"

"I don't mind walking if you don't."

And so we walked to Emmett's. Along the way we became more acquainted with one another.

"Where are you from?" I asked.

"I was born here in Chicago, but I've moved around to different places since then. I only came back here a few months ago. Are you from around here?"

"No. I'm from Washington, the state. I lived in with my dad in a little town no one's ever heard of. Forks."

"Why'd you come all the way to Chicago?"

"Northwestern was my long shot school, and miraculously I got in. And you don't turn down Northwestern for anything but, like, Harvard. What about you? I mean, surely you have family around here if you're from here. Why don't you hang out with them instead of those other guys?"

"No, um, my parents just lived here for a few months. I was born in the middle of their brief stay here. I came back because...Well, I'm not sure really."

"Do you go to school?"

"No, I don't," Edward said.

I was surprised. He seemed intelligent.

"Tell me more about yourself. Your family, your friends, your boyfriend, if you have one."

I bit my lip before briefly glancing at him as he held the umbrella above both our heads. I wasn't very eager to share Carlisle's existence and relation to me to Edward just yet. "Well, I don't have a boyfriend, really. As for friends..I live with my friend Alice. Emmett, the guy we're going to see now, he's her older brother, and also one of my close friends. His roommate is my best friend, Jacob. I guess we're kinda the core group of friends, with Jacob's girlfriend Leah sometimes thrown into the mix, along with Emmett's girlfriend Tanya, and their other two roommates, Garrett and Quil. As for family, I'm an only child and my parents are divorced. I lived with my mom in Arizona until I was thirteen. But she got remarried and, eh, I felt like a stranger in my own house with all my new step-siblings outnumbering me, so I moved in with my dad. And there's my life story," I laughed. "So I'm pretty sure you owe me yours."

"Not much to tell. I'm an only child and not to be depressing, but both my parents are, um, dead. No real friends to speak of, save for the unsavory characters with whom you saw me a few weeks ago."

My heart went out to Edward. He seemed so...Defeated. "I'm sorry about your parents."

He shrugged and we continued on in silence. Eventually we arrived to Emmett's apartment. Upon stepping off the elevator, Alice was there to greet us. "Alice, what are you doing out here?" I asked. She looked at Edward and smiled.

"Somehow I just knew that you'd bring along someone new."

**A/N: Woot another chapter. And just so everyone knows, I will be alternating between Bella and Edward narrating each chapter. So next chapter is Edward. Alsooo, for those that say Carlisle would never cheat on Esme...I am fully aware of this fact. Hence the AU and OOC in the story summary. And thanks for the reviews everyone, it's so nice of you! :)**


	4. Chapter 4

I had not purposefully happened upon the girl from the alley. I was taking advantage of one of Chicago's rainy summer days and was walking along a street I had never traversed. The fact that it was raining somewhat helped with the smell of humans- it weakened it. It made it easier to resist.

I had no aim or end destination in mind as I strolled about the streets, rather I was just thinking and people-watching. I thought about Jasper and James; I was not like them. But then once I was out amongst people, I knew I was not like them either. It was quite a hopeless situation.

But that was when I caught a faint whiff of something distinct. It was human blood, certainly. But it was more than that. It was better. Without thinking, I began following the scent. It lead me to a bookstore. I looked through the window and saw the brunette girl from the alley.

Of course it was her. Who else could it have been? I don't know why I forgot, or how I forgot; the only time I had ever smelled anything so good was that night with her.

She was sitting on a stool behind the counter, reading a book. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, but a few stray strands fell in her face. She absent-mindedly brushed them aside every so often. She looked so innocent and young and good. I wanted to speak to her, to see if my memory of her was correct, or if I had over-analyzed our brief encounter and romanticized the ordeal.

I stepped into the bookstore. A wave of air hit me like a wall. The small store smelled overwhelmingly of her. The smell was so sweet and strong it was almost sickening. I braced myself against it and reigned in my carnal side. She looked up at me and briefly smiled, muttering some sort of greeting- I was too caught up in resisting her to process what she said. I quickly disappeared into the bookshelves. I stayed there and acclimated myself to the smell before I dared approach her. After a few minutes had passed, I felt confident enough to be a few feet from her. I grabbed a book and walked towards the counter.

We made small talk. I wondered if she remembered me, although I could tell by the way she was looking at me, she probably did. I was slightly amused at the situation- I was having to guess at her thoughts. The silence was refreshing. However having to learn to pick up on physical cues as to guess what people were thinking was difficult. I hadn't had to pay attention to people in nearly a century. I was rusty.

"Have we met?" she finally asked.

"Yes," I replied.

"On the street, that night. That was you, wasn't it?"

"It was. I'm sorry..That was, um," I was at a loss as to how to put my relationship with Jasper and his friends into words, "My friends are -."

"Oh, don't apologize. You helped me get out of there. I've been wanting to thank you for awhile now. I just didn't think I'd ever see you again to do it. So thanks..Really," she ran a hand through her hair.

"No thanks necessary. It was the right thing to do," I shrugged.

"Besides, I could tell they weren't really your friends. You seem to good for them. You are too good for them."

"I guess they're not friends in the traditional sense of the word, no. But they're all I have really."

"That's too bad," she gave me my book. "Thanks again."

I slightly smiled to her and made my way towards the door. I had opened it and was almost out, when I heard her voice again.

"You know, if you need friends, in the traditional sense of the word, I'm going to catch up with some of mine after I close up here. You can come with me, if you'd like. It's nothing fancy, just me and a few other people hanging out."

I eventually agreed to her proposal. "I'm Bella Swan, by the way. I don't think I told you that," she told me her name. I told her mine as well and we shook hands. She immediately noticed how cold I was. I noticed how warm she was.

And from that moment on, Bella and I were friends. We were together at almost all possible times. It was strange, she didn't know alot about me, but I felt like she knew and understood me better than anyone else I had ever met. And I certainly didn't know much about her. She was a private person. In moments of desperation I had scanned her friends' thoughts, searching for even a hint of something pertaining to Bella. But there was nothing. I had to assume that either she just hadn't told them anything or they simply just didn't think of Bella- Or at least they did not think of her secrets. Which was fine. I knew Bella- I knew that she was sweet and honest. I did not need to know specifics to know that she was perfect.

"Edward," she whispered. I slowly opened my eyes, pretending to be waking from sleep.

"Yes?" I said, seeing perfectly clearly in the darkness.

"The movie is over."

I sat up. Bella's friends were rustling around the living room of Leah Clearwater's apartment. They had somewhat adopted me into their group- Although they had no choice, really. Bella pretty much brought me everywhere. They had been welcoming, all except for Jacob, Bella's best friend. He was suspicious of me, in a brotherly sort of way. And I didn't blame him- Especially considering I was me. He and Bella had arguments over her hanging out with me, and she disparaged him as being completely irrational. Ironically though, he was right. I was strange, there was something peculiar about me. She shouldn't have been so trusting of me so quickly.

Leah and Alice cleared the pizza boxes and beer bottles from the room, while Emmett slung Tanya over his shoulder and headed for the door. Jacob pulled Bella up from her spot on the sofa next to me. "Are you saying here tonight?" she asked him. He nodded. "Alright, well, Edward and Alice and me are gonna be going. But I'll see you later, ok?" She hugged him tightly before calling to Alice, "Alice! We're leaving!"

Once we were outside the apartment building, both Alice and Bella linked arms with me as we walked. "Edward, you stud, look at you...Walking home two gorgeous women," Alice joked. In the past two months, Alice had grown quite attached to me. When she had first seen me get off the elevator at Emmett's apartment, she searched my face, as if she was looking for someone, as if the someone new that she knew Bella was bringing would be someone other than me. She had been momentarily disappointed, but brushed aside such thoughts and instantly took a liking to me. Bella had told Alice about the night she was mugged in the alley, but she had never told her my name, or that I was the boy that saved her. I knew this because Alice had told me the story. "And he hurt his own friend to help her get away. She had nightmares for weeks about his black eyes. I was worried about her for awhile," Alice had said one evening at a diner. Bella had given me a look which told me to keep quiet. I had gotten much better at reading facial expressions thanks to Bella.

I laughed at Alice's remark, "I know. I'll never get a girlfriend if you two are always joined at my hip."

"So, Edward, Alice and I have been talking. And we know that you live with some rather...Difficult people," Bella said suddenly. I looked at her. She seemed to be trying to think of the proper way to talk about this topic- Whatever this topic _was, _I wasn't quite sure yet.

"I guess so, yes," I replied. "What about it?"

"Move in with us!" Alice squealed. She quickly looked at Bella, "I'm sorry! I know you wanted to ask him, but," she looked at me, "I just couldn't keep it a secret anymore!"

"Bella?" I asked, "Are you serious?"

"Yeah," she smiled, "I mean...The people you live with are...Savages. And in the past few months, you've become like our best friend. And we're pretty sure you're not some mass murderer. And this can be under the radar or whatever, we won't make you like sign a lease or whatever. We have that spare bedroom that Alice has been using as a closet. We can pay rent and you can pay utilities- It's pretty much even that way."

"I..I don't know. I mean, I don't know if I can deprive Alice of her closet. Alice are you sure?" Of course this was not my main concern. A vampire living with humans under the pretense of being human would have it's problems. I needed time to think.

"I've been watching the home and garden network alot lately- They have alot of shows about how to organize small spaces. I've taken notes...I think I've figured out a way to store all my clothes yet still be able to have a bedroom. Trust me, I love you, Edward, but I wasn't about to sacrifice clothing for you. I have priorities, you know," she laughed.

"Wow, this is very...Unexpected. You guys wouldn't be offended if I took some time to think about it?" I glanced down at Bella.

"Oh, yeah, of course not. Although...I can't think of a single reason why you wouldn't want to live with us. We're kinda awesome, don't know if you've noticed or not."

I laughed, "I've noticed. In fact, I'm fairly jealous of just how awesome you two are. Maybe if I live with you all, some of it will rub off on me."

Bella shrugged, "Maybe." She smiled and held onto my arm tighter. It felt good having her so close to me.

I dropped Alice and Bella off at their apartment and headed back towards my own. Living with them had pros and cons. Pros- No Jasper and his friends; I'd see more of Bella. Cons- Living with humans. I would have to pretend to sleep, to eat, to use the restroom. I'd have to feed much more often to maintain my eye color. I would have to find excuses for where I went while I was hunting. I didn't go to school, I didn't have a job. I had told Bella I was living off my inheritance until I decided what to do with my life. I didn't have any place to be, so my random disappearances would be suspect. I would have to get a bed to at least give the appearance of sleeping.

"Where have you been?" Rosalie asked as soon as I got in.

"Just out," I shrugged and started for my room.

"I smell human on you. And not just the smell that lingers from being around them all day. The smell of them being...On you. It's in your clothes, Edward."

"I sat next to a woman on the train," I replied. Bella's existence was completely unknown to my roommates. Well, they knew of her existence as a girl that they had once almost killed, but they probably didn't even remember her. And I hoped they never did. I didn't want them anywhere near her.

"You spend alot of time away from the house lately. Where do you go all day?" Rosalie continued to question me.

"What does it matter to you, Rose?"

"I'm curious. You also come home smelling like humans an awful lot. Jasper has noticed."

"Where are they, anyways?"

"Eating. I ate earlier. But Jasper has noticed, Edward. I'm telling you this for your own good. He's wondering what exactly you're doing with your time. He's been thinking about following you one day just to find out where you go. So, if you're doing something dangerous, I would rethink it."

I scanned Rosalie's thoughts. She was being genuine. "What does he think I'm doing?" I asked. Maybe he had followed me already. Maybe he knew about Bella. If my heart could have been beating, I'm sure it would have been going a mile a minute.

"He's not sure. James has offered to track you, but Jasper wants to wait. Please, Edward, don't do something stupid."

I was silent. "Well, to be honest with you Rosalie, I've been scouting out new places to live. Not here in Chicago, but rather places more...A place where there isn't as much sunlight. I've been thinking Alaska. Plenty of wild animals for me, alot of cloud cover. I could almost have a normal life there," I told her. I lied because when she covered for me to Jasper later, he would manipulate her into telling him everything she knew. This way he would manipulate her into telling a lie.

Rosalie actually seemed slightly upset at the news of my plans, "You're leaving us?"

"Rosalie...We all know I don't belong here. I know you all just see me as a giant buzzkill, and think that what I do is pointless and stupid, but it's important to me. I know I'm not human, and I will never even be remotely close to being one, but I'm just not ready to lose what little humanity I do have left. I'm not ready to be like you all. Maybe one day I will embrace what I really am, but for now...I won't," I said apologetically. I did care about Rosalie.

_Edward, please don't go. _Rosalie always communicated with me via thoughts when she was too prideful to actually verbalize them. _You acting like a human helps me still feel a little bit human, too. To have even the slightest hint of normality around is...Just please stay with us._

"I'm sorry, but...Maybe this will help you. Having me around spewing my constant humanity talk has to be holding you back. Think of me acting human as something painful- as a reminder of what you've lost. When you think of it that way, me leaving actually will help you be happier with this life. Because I know you miss being a human and hate yourself for giving into what you are. But you are what you are, Rosalie. And you can't be faulted for it, so don't worry about it."

I had obviously hit a nerve with her. "You don't know anything about what I miss or what I hate. You've said alot of high and mighty bullshit in the past few decades, but that truly takes the cake, Edward. Leave for all I care! Go feed on squirrels and birds or whatever the hell it is that you do to make you feel better about yourself." She stormed upstairs in a huff.

I sighed and went to my room. I started to pack my few belongings in a duffel bag. I called for Rosalie, "Rosalie, when did Jasper and the others leave? And where did they say they were going?"

_They left a few hours ago. I think Laurent mentioned Canada._

I finished packing my things and went up to Rosalie's room. "Well, tell them I said goodbye. If you're ever in Alaska, maybe even Russia, maybe we'll bump into each other. Bye, Rose."

She looked at me with a glare, but it softened after a moment. "Fine, fine, I'll hug you, stop begging," she rolled her eyes and gave a hint of a smile. She hugged me quickly before letting me go. "Good luck with everything."

I smiled to her and left. I began my run to Alaska. Knowing James and Jasper, they would not simply take Rosalie at her word and believe I went to Alaska. They would attempt to track me. So to be safe, I decided to actually go to Alaska. I was never sure why Jasper and James in particular disliked me so much and constantly sought to make my life a living hell, but nonetheless, it seemed they had some vendetta against me.

The trip took about two days. I called Bella from a pay-phone, telling her that my uncle had died unexpectedly, and that I was paying my respects and would be back in a few days. Once in Alaska, I covered the entire state before I stowed away on a ship headed for California. James would get to Alaska and my scent would be everywhere. He could not track targets in the water; his one weakness.

As I waited for the ship to dock in San Diego, I thought about how incredibly stupid this was. I was bound to run into one of my 'friends' when I went back to Chicago. Although, I had become so accustomed to their thoughts, I was quite in tune with them and could hear their thoughts louder and across farther distances than anyone else's. So I would always know when they were coming.

What I was doing was selfish. But I wanted to be around Bella. I wanted to see her look at me with non-judging yet completely understanding eyes despite the fact that she really knew nothing about me. I wanted to feel her warm skin against mine as she hugged me or just joked around with me. I wanted to be able to look at that perfect smile every day.

I hoped that what I was doing would not mean the end of Bella Swan's fragile life.

**A/N: Hmmmm. Hope you enjoyed. Thanks for the reviews everyone. I appreciate them. :) I guess I don't ahve too much to say..But that's probably because it's nearly 6AM and I'm really sleepy, haha. R&R if you so desire :) **


	5. Chapter 5

Carlisle's office was a stark contrast to his apartment. Esme had the apartment done up to the nines, looking like something out of a magazine. But his office- It was very basic, and somewhat messy. His office was on the sixteenth floor of the office tower in the center of campus. There was a huge window that let in enough light that the overhead fixture was unnecessary.

I was waiting for him to get back in from giving a talk to some freshmen here for summer orientation. I looked at his desk. It was covered in random papers and books. It had a single photo, a picture of Carlisle and Esme and their son Jack. Jack had died about two years ago, and had taken Carlisle and Esme's marriage with him. That is how I justified this. _It was over between them before I even knew Carlisle._

"Bella!" Carlisle smiled when he saw me after he entered the room. He closed the door behind him and gave me a brief kiss as he passed by me on his way to his desk. "What a pleasant surprise. I didn't expect to see you today."

"Yes, well, I just thought I'd see you during daylight hours for a change. Makes this feel like a normal relationship," I shrugged.

Carlisle sat down and began shuffling through papers, obviously searching for something, "Bella, you know this will never be a normal relationship," he said as he continued looking around his desk.

I ran my hand through my hair, "Yeah. I know."

"You know I care about you, Bella."

"Yeah, yeah. I know...What are you looking for?"

"Just some lab stuff. So, what brings you by?"

"I thought maybe we could get lunch or something. I could bring along some school books, make it look like a casual student/teacher meeting..Like we're going over my term paper or something."

He seemed to be thinking for a minute, "Better yet...We can have our own private lunch here in the office. I'll run down to the caf and get some food, and we can have a picnic..Kinda."

I sat on the corner of his desk and smiled, "Sounds good to me." He stood up and held me by the shoulders.

"I'll be back in a few minutes." He leaned down and gave me a kiss- A real kiss, as opposed to the brief one he greeted with me. A kiss that I felt all the way to my knees. Our lips parted, and we both smiled. It was at times like this that I felt guilty for not feeling guilty about being with Carlisle.

He left the room, and I settled comfortably into his chair. I swiveled around and around like a child. I stopped when I heard my phone ringing. It was an unidentified number. Strange.

"Hello?" I said.

"Bella?" Edward's voice questioned from the other end.

"Edward? Hey, what's up?"

"Uh, not too much really. Well, actually, alot. My uncle died, and so I'm headed for California for the funeral. I'm not sure when I'll get back exactly. Probably in a few days, but I don't know which day."

"Oh, Edward, I'm so sorry to hear that. I didn't even know your uncle was sick. Or that you had an uncle. Is there anything I can do?" I asked.

"No, no. He and I weren't particularly close. I just figured it's the right thing to do, so yeah..I'll be gone for a few days, but when I come back, I'm going to take you and Alice up on you all's offer."

I immediately smiled, "You're going to do it? You're going to live with us?!"

I heard him laugh when he assured me he was. Hearing him laugh always tugged at my chest. Edward was a fairly serious guy. He somewhat struck me as depressed. So hearing him laugh made me feel like he was improving.

"I have to go, Bella. But I'll see you in a few days. Be careful," he said quickly before hanging up abruptly.

Alice constantly asked me what I thought about Edward. She refused to believe that I didn't harbor some sort of romantic feeling for him. The truth was, I was not sure what to think of Edward. He was handsome, to be sure. He was kind. He treated me with respect, and I always felt at ease around him. I was attracted to him. I felt incredibly protective of him. It was why I asked him to live with us. I was not sure what kind of gang or whatever it was that his friends were, but I knew he hated being around them. I knew they loved to torture him, to tease him, to try to get him to go along with their lifestyle- whatever that might've been. I wasn't sure how he had got caught up with them, but I knew he wanted out. Why he didn't just leave, I didn't know. Maybe it was because they really were all he had...Until now. Now he had me. And I was not going to let him be subject to those people anymore.

I felt close to Edward. He had saved my life once, how could I not feel naturally at ease with him after that? But at the same time, I felt we were distant. I certainly had my secrets, and I knew practically nothing concrete about him. But things like family, friends, schools, work, favorite movies, etc- They all seemed so shallow and irrelevant to the fact that things just fell into place whenever I was around Edward. I didn't need to know all those things to know him, to know how he treated me, or to know how I felt about him.

To say I never entertained the thought of being with Edward, it would be a lie. But I was with Carlisle. He needed me. Carlisle and I would have to come to an end at some point- I wouldn't be his mistress forever. I did hope for the legal dissolution of his marriage, but I wasn't going to wait around for that. And for now, this is where I needed to be. I felt like mine and Edward's time, if there were such a thing, would be later.

"Lunch is here," Carlisle came back. I quickly glanced at the clock on the wall- That had been fast. He set our food on the table before going back to lock his office door.

Carlisle and I ate our lunch quietly on his office floor.

"Esme is out of town tonight..And for the next three," he said as he picked the lettuce off his chicken salad sandwich.

"Carlisle Cullen, are you asking me to come over?" I asked, feigning shock.

"Could be. Or I might just be sharing a simple fact with you. You'll never know."

"So if I just show up at your place tonight, you'd send me away?"

He chuckled and gave me a teasing look, "Eventually."

I laughed and inched closer to him. I gave him a soft kiss before backing away. "You're sweet," I said.

Carlisle rubbed my arm, "Thanks." He was giving me an intent stare, as if he wanted to say something but was not sure how to put it. "You've been really great, Bella. Through this whole thing, you've just been amazing. And I'm just really glad that I know you."

I bit my lip and smiled. I quickly and wordlessly lunged at him, kissing him. When I pulled away, I gave him a knowing look.

I pushed him down on his back and climbed on top of him. As we kissed I reached down and began unbuckling his belt and unzipping his pants. I briefly sat up abit so he could pull off my thin purple tank top. "The desk," he breathed before he shoved me off of him and stood up. As he cleared the desk, I took off my shorts and panties, kicking off both in a hurry. He pulled his pants down, but opted to keep them on.

He quickly pulled me over to his desk and laid me down on it. He kissed my neck and collarbone. Our breaths grew heavier. Each passing second gave us a sense of urgency.

When Carlisle slipped inside me, he covered my mouth with his hand to muffle the moans. Keeping quiet was extraordinarily difficult.

Just as things were getting into a rhythm, there was a knock on Carlisle's door.

We froze.

"Carlisle? You in there? Deborah said you just came in with your lunch," one of his colleagues said through the door. "I need to talk to you about the study."

"Uhhh, yeah, I'm in here. I'm in the middle of a call, just give me a few seconds to finish things up and I'll be right there. Actually, can I just come down to your office?"

There was a slight pause, "Yeah, that's fine. See you in a few."

We waited for the sound of footsteps. I exhaled, suddenly realizing I had not breathed the entire time.

"You have to go," Carlisle said while buttoning his pants. I quickly gathered my clothes and started putting them on. "But come by my place tonight. We will finish this."

Now fully clothed, we both exited his office. He went in one direction, I in the other.

I walked with a slight smile on my face. I had a secret.

**A/N: This chapter was hard to write. I wanted to establish C/B's relationship, but I realize most people don't like it, so I debated about writing this chapter at all, but I decided it needed to be done..But I also stuck that little Edward call in the middle ;) But yeah, Ugh, writing even vaguely sexual scenes such as this one between Bella and Carlisle is soooo awkward, haha. The main point of this chapter was that Bella and Carlisle's relationship is not just purely sex, that while it is sexual, there are real feelings at the root of it. Like I know I didn't go into alot of detail in this chapter, so that point might not have been ragingly obvious, but I think in the future it will be. So. Yeah. ANYWHO. Review, review, review :) For everyone who already has, thank you so much ^_^ **


	6. Chapter 6

I had been away from Bella for two weeks. It was longer than I had originally planned, but I had to wait for a cloudy day, and I wanted to be sure that Jasper and James would not suspect me of being in Chicago any longer. Two weeks was not a long time for a vampire, considering our frame of reference was eternity, but at the same time I could not be away from her any longer. If that made me weak, vulnerable, stupid, or whatever- So be it. I did not care. I missed the stillness of a room with just her and I in it. No thoughts running through my head but my own, the only sound being her heartbeat and steady breathing. She gave me peace.

So now I stood at her and Alice's apartment door. I heard Alice's thoughts. She was distraught about something, but her thinking was so scattered it was hard to pick up on what exactly she was upset about. I knocked on the door.

A few seconds later, Alice swung open the door. A rush of air hit me. It was like being punched. I had lost my immunity to Bella's scent. And here her in her apartment it was especially concentrated.

Upon seeing me, Alice's big green eyes widened in excitement, and she promptly jumped up to hug me. "Edward!" she exclaimed, "You're back!" When she let go she looked at me, noticing I had my bags. "And you're moving in, right?"

"Yes, I am," I replied, smiling down at her while holding my breath. It was at times like this I was glad I had no biological need to breathe. "Where's Bella?"

"Oh, she's in the shower. Come in, come in!" Alice took my hand and pulled me inside the apartment. She took my bags and carried them into the spare bedroom, which would now be my room. "Where's the rest of your stuff?"

"That is all my stuff."

"You're kidding me," she looked shocked and horrified. "Edward, we're going to have to remedy this. Soon. If you live with me, you're going to have a wider wardrobe selection. You have to."

I laughed, "I know, I know. Hope I'm not too much of an embarrassment in the mean time." I heard the water from the shower shut off.

"Eh, I'll survive. So, this is really all your stuff? You're not even bringing a bed or anything?"

"I don't have one," I awkwardly replied. I had never lived with humans; I had never required a bed for pretense. "My previous apartments came furnished."

Bella exited the bathroom in nothing but a white towel. She looked surprised to see me, but happy at the same time. "Edward!" she hugged me. I became acutely aware of every inch of her warm body against mine. I breathed in a little bit. I could handle this. "I missed you!"

"I missed you, too," I hugged her back, probably lingering too long.

"You should've called! You called me just once and I didn't hear from you since! I was kinda worried about you," she pulled back and frowned.

"I'm sorry. I guess I was just caught up with family issues."

"Are you ok? Bella said you weren't close to your uncle, but still," Alice said as she went to the kitchen and got a glass of water. "Do you want anything to eat or drink? How was your flight?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I smiled and looked at Bella. "I stayed so long just because...I figured since I rarely see that side of the family that I should hang around abit longer to make up for lost time." I sat on the arm of one of the sofas.

"Well, I'm glad you're fine. And I'm glad you're back," Bella rubbed my arm. "We should all celebrate. I have to finish my last week of summer classes, but Friday night, we're having a welcome home party for you."

"Yes!!" Alice popped out of the kitchen. "And I'm off of work this week so I can plan it."

"I don't know," I was reluctant.

"Yeah, Alice, I just meant like a small, emphasis on _small_, get together...Maybe just going out for dinner and drinks with like Jake and Emmett or something. Nothing huge. Definitely nothing that would require a week's worth of planning."

Alice rolled her eyes, "We need another roommate. One who can help me battle you two and your apparent quests to suck the joy out of everything."

"Oh, cheer up. I might be on your side of things sometimes," I shrugged and laughed. Alice did not look convinced.

"Okay, well, I have to get ready to go to class now," Bella glanced at the clock in the room. It read 9:45 AM. "It starts at 10:30. You guys have any plans for the day?"

"Not-," I began.

"I'm taking Edward shopping. All of his belongings fit in two suitcases and one duffel bag. He doesn't even have a bed," Alice interrupted me. I opened my mouth to speak, but she cut me off again. "Don't try to fight it, Edward. Consider this your initiation."

"Or hazing," Bella chuckled as she disappeared into her bedroom.

Alice looked at me with a sly grin on her face. "I'm ready when you are, Masen. Oh, yeah. You never told me if you wanted anything to eat."

"No, I got some food on my way back from the airport."

"Do you need to rest or anything before we go? Because I warn you, shopping is pretty much on par with Olympic sports when it's done with me."

I wished I could have rested. I wished I could have taken a nap. Mentally, I was exhausted. But there was nothing I could do. I could sit and stare into space for a few hours, but that often resulted in thinking about things to the point of insanity. "No, we can go now."

Alice and I walked around the shops on Michigan Avenue for hours. We were in Neiman Marcus looking at beds when Alice asked a rather unexpected question. "So how much do you really like Bella?"

"What?" I replied. I made a mental note that maybe from now on, it wouldn't be so 'unethical' to read Alice's mind every now and then. Typically I refrained from reading her mind simply because I respected her privacy. It was hard to keep up the mental barrier so often, but it was the price I had to pay for a semblance of normality. Plus, it kept me from accidentally bringing things I had heard her think into conversation.

"Don't play innocent with me," she laughed. "Your eyes nearly fell out of their sockets when you saw her this morning. And it wasn't just because she was half naked."

I began stumbling for words. "I, uh...Bella and I...Our relationship..."

"Your complete incoherence was all I needed to hear to confirm my suspicions."

"Of course I like Bella," I finally managed to spit out. "She's...She's one of the few friends I have."

Alice fell backwards onto a bed and stared at the ceiling. "You can tell me the truth. I won't tell her." Her tone was soft and sure.

I followed Alice's suit and also fell backwards onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling. I read her mind. She was being honest. I exhaled. "I really care about her. Probably more than she does about me."

"Bella cares about you, Edward. She didn't let on to it to you this morning, but while you were gone she wasn't just 'kinda worried,' she was really worried. She thought something had happened to you."

"That doesn't mean she's interested in me," I said. I was almost ashamed of how juvenile this conversation sounded. I was 107 years old. Far too old for this, 'Oh I like her, but I'm not sure if she likes me, oh my god what do I do?' thing.

Alice sat up and shrugged, "I know her. She's only known you for a few months, yet you were gone for two weeks and she worried as if Jacob had been the one gone."

"See? And Jacob is just her friend."

"Her _best_ friend. That she's known since she was a kid. The feelings that have taken her years to build up for him, they just popped up overnight for you. Plus, I'm a girl, and I know how girls behave when they like someone. Bella likes you. End of story," Alice looked at me and gave me a cheeky grin. "So, what do you think of this bed? Is it manly enough?"

I burst out laughing, "Manly enough?"

"Well, since you and Bella are apparently only friends," her voice was thick with sarcasm, "I trust you'll be bringing home girls fairly often. And you don't want to throw them down on some fairy princess bed."

I looked at the bed. It appeared gender-neutral. "It looks fine, but the price," I flinched as I pulled at the price tag.

She rolled her eyes, "Oh, shut up. This will be my moving in present to you," Alice said as she approached a salesman. I would have objected, but I knew that this sort of thing truly made Alice happy, plus Alice was not hard-up for money by any stretch of the imagination. Her father owned some sort of business conglomerate, while her mother was the chief of medicine at a nearby hospital. Her freshman year of college at Northwestern, she had lived in an uptown penthouse with her sister, Heidi. But Alice and Bella met in class and became fast friends. Alice decided to live with Bella for their sophomore, and now junior year, despite the smaller quarters.

With the bedroom furniture selected, all that was left to do was let Alice pick out some clothes which she deemed suitable.

Alice was holding up a shirt and discussing its various advantages, when I heard a familiar tone of thought. I froze. I listened harder.

"Edward, are you okay?" I heard Alice ask. I waved her off and murmured something, trying to concentrate.

Maybe I had just been imagining things. But then I heard it again, this time the tone was clear. It was Laurent and James. They were probably within a mile or two, but their thoughts did not indicate that they had seen us. I cursed myself. Of course they would be here on a cloudy day. They loved scouting out potential victims on the Magnificent Mile.

"What's going on?"

"Nothing," I said, focusing back on Alice. "I just thought I heard something."

She looked at me strangely before turning her attention back to the shirt. I pretended to pay attention, which was slightly simple, seeing as all I had to do was give a yes or no vote on whatever she was suggesting I buy. I continued to listen to Laurent and James' thoughts. They were mostly nothing but lewd thoughts about attractive women and plans to kill them later. From the pictures in their minds, I could see they weren't close by, and so I was not terribly worried.

What would I do if they did see me with Alice, though? I couldn't take her back to Bella's. They would just follow us there and most likely kill us- or at least Alice and maybe Bella, if she was home. Where could I take Alice if they saw us? James was a tracker. I was only able to elude him before because I had probably a day's head start and because he probably didn't care enough to really try to find me. But now if he saw me with a human girl when I was supposed to be exiled in Alaska, he might care enough to track me down. And then- The thought disgusted me.

"Alice," I interrupted her speech, "Can we go home? I don't feel well."

Alice furrowed her brow, "Yeah, sure. Do you wanna buy this stuff first?"

"Can they put it on hold for me?" I asked, holding my stomach, feigning illness. "Or not. I'm sure it will still be here in a few days. I really don't feel well."

"Okay, yeah, sure. Let's go," she patted me on the back.

When we got home, it was around four in the afternoon. Bella was sleeping on the couch, a textbook lying open on her stomach. Alice escorted me into Bella's room. "Here, you don't have a bed yet and she's hogging the couch, so you rest in here. Do you want anything to drink?" I shook my head. Alice shrugged and closed the door behind her.

I quickly made a dash for Bella's window which faced down onto the street. No sign of James or Laurent or any of them. I strained myself to hear their thoughts, but I heard nothing.

I laid in Bella's bed, scanning for familiar tones for hours. Her pillow smelled like her perfume. On her dresser were picture of her and her friends. On her nightstand a picture of her and her parents when she was much younger. Her room was full of books, naturally- she was an English major after all- and old vinyl records. The walls were covered in posters for plays and exhibitions and concerts. I had never been in Bella's room but a few times, and even then only for maybe five seconds at a time. Bella was immensely private, and I doubted that whenever she woke up from her nap that she would appreciate Alice putting me in here.

I heard someone turning the doorknob. I couldn't hear anyone thought's at all. It was Bella, unless there was someone else who was impervious to my ability. I quickly pretended to sleep. I felt Bella sit down on the bed. She pushed away a stray tuft of hair from my face. "Edward?"

My eyes opened, but I remained silent.

"How are you feeling? Alice told me that you all had to come home from shopping because you felt sick."

"I'm feeling better," I replied. And it was the truth. Having her by my side made me feel better. It wasn't rational, but it was how things were.

She smiled, "You know, it wouldn't be the first time someone's faked illness to get out of shopping with Alice."

"Did you?" I asked, amused.

"Once or twice."

We were quiet. "I really, really missed you while you were gone, Edward," Bella confessed. She held my hand.

"I really missed you, too. I'm sorry I didn't call. I didn't know you'd worry."

"It's okay. I thought maybe one of your 'friends' had caught up with you or something. But you're here now, and that's all that matters."

Bella kissed my cheek and squeezed my hand. "I need to work on some school work now. You can stay in here if you like. I'll be pretty quiet. You can go out on the couch if you'd like. Alice went over to Jake and Emmett's."

I was struck by how in my intent listening for my vampire friends, that I had completely tuned out Alice's coming and goings, as well as not even heard her and Bella's conversations.

"I'd like to stay in here with you," I replied.

I stayed in Bella's room with her the entire night. I pretended to drift in and out of sleep. But really the entire time I was listening.

Waiting.

**A/N: Okay, I always mean to say this after every update, but I always forget. If there are a ton of typos in these things, I'm sorry. I usually read them over once after I finish typing them, but I write ALL my stuff between the hours of 2-6AM, so my brain is pretty much fried and typos slip through the cracks. Also, thank so much to everyone who's reviewed thus far. I really appreciate it and it makes me feel inspired to write more :) AND...For those of you who read my other story, sorry I haven't updated it in like..2 months, but I have two ways I could go with the story and how I write the next chapter pretty much dictates how the entire thing will end, and I can't decide on which ending I like best, so I've been stuck trying to decide since April. So I'm really sorry I haven't updated in SO long. And another thing...I really do appreciate the reviews I get for both of my stories, so next chapter of this fic I will probably do an author's note replying to everyone's reviews/criticisms/compliments/etc. I would do it now, but it's 5AM and I haven't slept for like two days..So I will be shocked if this is even remotely coherent. Hope it is. *High five* :)**


	7. Chapter 7

Jacob and I were taking a walk together at Grant Park. We had just grabbed some fast food for dinner and were now just hanging out. It was rare we had the chance to be alone anymore. We saw each other a fair bit, but always while we were around other people. Plus, I had spent the entire summer taking classes, so I had even less time to spend with him. This was nice, being alone with him. It reminded of me of how we used to be when we were younger and living in Forks.

He had been my everything. Being away from him was the hardest part of my parents' divorce. Jacob and I knew each other since we were both five. My parents divorced when I was ten. They both thought it would be best for me to live with my mom. My dad loved me, but being a single father and a police chief did not mix, so away to Phoenix I went. I had fit in when I lived in Forks. But in Arizona, I was clearly out of my element. I eventually made a few friends, but those friendships were not on the same level as the one I had with Jacob. There's something to be said for someone who requires no explanation from you. He understood everything, always. My friendships with my Arizona friends were difficult to leave behind when I moved back to Forks, but, to be honest, the decision to go back to Forks and my dad and Jacob was the easiest choice I ever made.

Even though I was a few months older than Jacob, he was immensely solicitous about me. When we were sixteen, I had my first boyfriend- A senior named Evan Jenkins. Evan was okay for the most part. He had a temper, but nothing serious. Jacob never liked Evan, and didn't bother to keep it a secret. Once we had all been out to the movies. As we exited the theater, Jacob and our friends walked ahead of us as Evan and I lagged behind and started to argue about something. Just as Jacob looked back to see how far behind we were, he saw Evan shove me. He quickly turned around and made a beeline towards Evan. "Dude? What the hell do you think you're doing?" Evan just told Jacob to mind his own business. And at that, Jacob promptly punched Evan in the face. "Don't you ever touch her again, you prick!" That was the last time Evan Jenkins ever touched me.

"So how's the new roommate working out?" Jacob asked, shaking me from my thoughts.

"Edward's good. I tried to get him to come out with me earlier today since it's such a nice day, but he said he wanted to do some reading instead," I shrugged. "He's remarkably clean for a guy. He never leaves out food or drinks or dirty dishes. The biggest mess he's made since moving in is just leaving some books and music compositions lying around the living room. Apparently he can write music."

"Is it any good?"

"I don't know. We don't have any musical instruments in the place, so I guess it's just all in his head for now."

"Still can't believe you asked what amounts to be a stranger to live with you," Jacob sighed. "A stranger that is blatantly creepy."

"Edward is not creepy!" I punched Jacob in the arm. "He's just shy. He's been through alot of stuff. I mean, both his parents died."

"How?"

"I never asked, and he's never said."

Jacob shook his head, "How do you know he didn't murder them in their sleep?"

I rolled my eyes. "You're impossible."

"Thank you."

"I don't know. Edward and I just...Connect. On some basic, primal level."

"Bella, that just had far too many sexual undertones for me to be comfortable with."

"I don't mean like that. I mean...Everything just comes natural and easy for us. Our friendship is effortless. I don't have to think about it."

"Can you please just be real and call a spade a spade?"

I raised an eyebrow, "What the hell?"

"Look, I am not Edward's biggest fan. I think he's strange, and I would not be surprised to find he collects obituaries for fun. But, Bella, I've known you since pretty much forever, and you have never talked about a guy whom you saw as just a friend like you just talked about him. For instance, how would you describe our friendship?"

"Awesome?" I replied, not really sure where Jacob was going with this little speech.

"Exactly. You call your relationship with Edward a friendship, but you describe it the way a person would describe a romantic relationship. You call our relationship a friendship, and you describe it how most people would. Although, really, awesome is a fairly all-encompassing term when it comes to almost anything involving myself."

"Oh, shut _up_," I once again rolled my eyes at him but smiled. "Your humility is astounding."

"Isn't it?"

"So are missing Leah?" I asked, quickly changing the topic. Jacob gave me a knowing look, but decided to let the conversation move on from Edward.

"I do miss her. But she'll be back tomorrow. We should all go out or something. School does start back in two weeks. We need to savor this freedom."

Leah was on Northwestern's soccer team. She was currently in Virginia at a soccer clinic. She and Jacob met the week of freshman move-in. Jacob and I were at some sort of freshmen event that was taking place adjacent to the soccer field. The girls team was out doing drills. Jacob and I were signing up for the Student Activities Board when a soccer ball pelted me in the face. While I was instinctively doubling over in pain, a 5'11 exotic beauty stepped through the crowd. She was gorgeous. Tall, slender, long black hair, luminescent copper skin, and piercing blue eyes. She took a look at me and then at Jacob. "Hey, sorry about that. Can I get my ball back, though?" she asked, obviously not worried about my face.

From that moment on, Jacob was smitten with her. He tossed the ball between his hands. "What's it worth?" I remember thinking, _What the fuck, Jake. I'm in pain over here while you're putting the moves on this bitch._

"Excuse me?"

"What are you willing to give me in return?"

"The sweet memory of this conversation not ending with you writhing on the ground in pain after sustaining a swift kick to the balls?" she sarcastically replied.

Jacob laughed, "I was thinking more along the lines of a phone number. Or at least a date."

"No."

"Fine. I'll be keeping this," he shrugged and turned to me, "How's the face feeling, Bells?"

"Now you ask," I muttered. "Fine. Just a little...Numb."

We could hear Leah's teammates yelling for her to get the ball. "Come on, dude. Just give me the ball."

"Just give me your number."

"I have a boyfriend."

"No you don't. Or else that would've been your first excuse."

Her teammate's yelling grew louder. "Fine. A date. Meet me at the library tomorrow at five and we'll walk somewhere. Now give me the damn ball!" Leah said quickly.

Jacob smiled and threw the ball to her. She caught it and started to run back, but paused, turned around, came back, and kicked Jacob in the shin before returning to her team. Later, as we were leaving the freshman event, I saw Leah slip a wink in Jacob's direction. And they had been together ever since.

Leah and I did not immediately take a liking to each other. We had started off on a bad foot- She hit me in the face with a soccer ball and barely blinked, so I was not really a Leah fan. And Leah just thought I was too much of a sissy. But over the past couple of years, she and I came to be on better terms. Good terms, actually.

"We should savor these last few precious weeks we have. I spent all summer in school and working. And now I'm about to spend another nine months working and schooling. I feel I'm all work and no play these days," I sighed.

"Maybe you can get Edward to leave the apartment."

"He does leave it...Just not...During the day," I said, not realizing that this was the case until I said it.

"Never?" Jacob seemed surprised.

"Well, not never. There are somedays he leaves the apartment. Again, he's shy. Probably has some social fears or something."

"It's getting dark. I'll walk you back to your place. I'll ask Leah and Emmett if they all wanna go out this weekend. You ask Edward and Alice."

"Ay, ay, Captain," I smirked.

Jacob and I walked back to my place. It was now completely dark as I hugged Jacob goodbye.

"Alice, Edward! I'm home!" I announced as I swung open our apartment door.

"Christ, Bella. No need to yell," Alice's head poked up from the top of our large recliner. "I'm right here."

"Sorry, didn't see you. Where's Edward?"

"Here," Edward emerged from the kitchen behind me.

"Damn, you're all so stealthy," I laughed.

"Did you need something?" he asked.

"Are you two busy Friday night?"

"Yes," Alice replied.

"No." I looked at Edward. It almost went without saying that he had no plans for this Friday night, or any night ever for that matter.

"Well, Leah's getting back from Virginia tomorrow, and Jacob wanted to know if you all would be up for going out Friday night to welcome her back and to celebrate our last weeks of freedom from scholastic affairs."

"My thing wasn't important. I can cancel," Alice quickly decided.

"Sounds fine by me," Edward shrugged. I noticed he was looking especially handsome today. A faint flush was beneath his cheeks. I caught myself staring at him. I was pretty sure he was also aware of my too-intense gaze.

"Awesome," I dragged my eyes away from Edward and to Alice. I gave her a brief smile before disappearing into my bedroom. I caught a glimpse of myself in my mirror and realized that I was blushing.

Living with Edward had changed some of my feelings about him. I was still protective of him, but seeing as how he had no discernible threats now, most of my protective energies had dissipated. However, energy is neither created nor destroyed...It simply changes forms. My energy involving Edward these days mostly took the form of trying not to notice him when he emerged shirtless from the bathroom after a shower. Or attempting to pretend I didn't see him when he was doing pushups in his bedroom with the door ajar. And those were just the physical things I attempted to ignore.

The fact that he and I could discuss literature- He had practically read every book I brought up- was a turn on. A sad, geeky, but very true fact. Carlisle was more of a science-oriented guy. He probably hadn't read a piece of literature since he was a freshman in college and had to get his English requirements. So it had probably been over ten years since he had read a book. There was a disconnect between Carlisle and I in that regard. I loved that despite the fact that Edward wasn't in university, he still had an eagerness to learn and absorbed knowledge so quickly. I loved that he was creative and could compose what I imagined to be masterpieces all in his head. I thought about saving up to get him at least a small piano, maybe even a keyboard- Just something for him to have so he could play his music.

I started looking through my closet, thinking about what to wear Friday night in an attempt to shake Edward from my mind. But instead I found myself stressing about what I would look best in and wondering what Edward would think. _No. No. I cannot be thinking like this. _I continued browsing my closet. Nothing was good enough. _Doesn't matter. I don't need to impress Edward anyway. He's my friend. My gorgeous, smart, sweet friend. Just because he's perfect in every way imaginable doesn't mean I have to have feelings for him. This can be a normal, platonic relationship._

I was not winning the war with myself in my head. Because I knew...Once you have to start mentally bargaining and pleading with yourself, you're already too far gone.

**A/N: I argued with myself over making this longer and including Friday night here, but I really want to write Friday night from Edward's perspective. So this is all for this chapter :) This chapter was mostly to show Bella and Jacob's friendship, plus make characters other than Bella/Edward/Alice have some fleshing-out/development, if that makes sense. These past two chapters have been set up...Next chapter is where the action starts, YAY. And as promised: Responses to my readers! I'm going to start with reviewers starting from my 6/11 update :D**

**Robin.D:** Thank you for reviewing so faithfully...That's really awesome of you! And I'm glad you like my stuff, not just this particular story.

**Amy**: Lol, that's a really sweet compliment. I guess my summary doesn't really sound very interesting so not many people click on the story, and even less review it. Oh well. As long as a few people enjoy it, I will keep writing :)

**twilightlover307: **Yeah, I'm not sure what possessed me to write the CxB relationship. It even grosses me out to think about, so I don't know how I came to be writing it O.o And yeah, Carlisle was Bella's cellular biology teacher her freshman year of college. Their relationship will be talked about more in depth later in the story.

**Alice06:** I first read your first review one night before going to bed, and after reading it, I couldn't sleep for thinking about it. I felt so bad. I'm glad you like the story, despite B/C's relationship. And this is a BxE story over all, so just keep that in mind ;) :) Alice does not know about Carlisle. She would be QUITE upset if she did!! Haha.

**slyt:** Glad you like it so much :D And no, Alice does not know about BxC. No one knows about that at all. And your review just made me realize that people might be expecting me to write the party they have for Edward, which occurred, but I didn't write..If that makes sense. But I will be writing about them going out Friday night..Which is kinda like a party :)

**lalala: **Thanks? Lol.

**GODISAWESOME:** Yeah, BxC is not a pairing you often see...So it is something different..You're one of the few who don't mind it, so yay for you, lol :) Edward and Bella are getting closer...But their real bonding is going to start soon. :)

**Dawn Run:** Hehe, I finally did get some sleep! I can only ever write at night for some reason...I try to write during the day, but I just can't focus. So yet again, I'm writing this at 3:36 AM, haha.

**Again, thanks everyone for your kind words and keep on reviewing :)**


	8. Chapter 8

I sat in a corner booth, watching an entirely-drunk-Alice and barely-drunk-Bella dance in the club Leah had picked out for her welcome home celebration.

The atmosphere of the club made me feel sick. The music was incredibly loud. I could feel each frantic beat pass through my chest. I could hear every minute sound, every gasp of breath, every word spoken, every vile, disgusting thought. I felt as if my head might explode. It was dark, save for the blacklights and strobe lights, with a few splashes of blue and red thrown in. The smell of so many humans packed so densely in a room typically would have been mouthwatering. But the smell of sweat mixed in with the various competing perfumes and colognes was overpowering and almost made me feel sick to my stomach. Yes, vampires have gag reflexes. This was simply sensory overload.

I scanned the room for our friends- It was weird to think of Bella and Alice's friends as my friends as well. Leah had Jacob pushed up against a wall, and the two were acting as if they were not aware they were in a club with probably 200 on-lookers. Tanya and Emmett had drunkenly stumbled in the direction of the bathrooms around midnight, unable to keep their lips and hands off one another. It was now 1:30, and I still hadn't seen them since. Leah had brought three girls from her soccer team along. I think their names had been Emily, Rachel, and...Rebecca? Emily and Rebecca were sitting together at the bar on the opposite end of the club from me, talking to a group of guys, giggling and smiling coyly at them. Rachel had ran into a guy from one of her classes early on in the night, around 11:30 maybe, and had left with him. Alice had brought her and Emmett's sister, Heidi.

Heidi was the dead opposite of Alice in almost every way imaginable. At 5'11, she was an entire foot taller than Alice. While Alice had bright green eyes, Heidi's eyes were an almost eery shade of violet. Her hair reminded me of Bella's- long and mahogany brown with some wave to it. Both Alice and Heidi were beautiful girls, although Alice was so in a more unconventional way. Heidi looked like what every red-blooded male dreams of. She actually reminded me of Rosalie in how astonishingly attractive she was. But the differences between Heidi and Alice became most apparent when Heidi spoke. Alice was light, bubbly, and so friendly that after a single conversation, you felt at complete ease with her. Heidi was short and curt. Upon first meeting her, I gave her thoughts a quick scan- The basic summary was this: She did not like Bella or any of the other vermin Alice and Emmett had taken to hanging around with lately. She had come out with us tonight solely to spend some time with Alice, maybe even Emmett if he managed to break free of Tanya.

But Emmett had been unable- or rather, unwilling- to break from Tanya's side. And Alice had downed more alcohol than I had thought her capable of drinking, and was thus tirelessly dancing the entire night. She only came back to the table for a drink of water- I had cut her off from alcohol after her eighth shot. She was only 4'11 after all. This left Heidi, too uptight to drink or dance, sitting in the booth with me all night. I had tried to make conversation, but she was clearly not interested in speaking to me. She just played with a cigarette lighter the entire time, flipping the cap on and off, twirling it through her fingers, her eyes glowering. Even for a human, she was quite intimidating. I was shocked when she actually spoke to me.

"Are you fucking my little sister?" Heidi asked, her voice lacking any semblance of warmth, not that her question was one that lent itself to a warm tone.

"What?!" my eyes widened, "No, no. Alice is like..My sister."

She raised an eyebrow, "Just checking. You've been watching her and Bella all night. So maybe it's Bella you're fucking. I just had to make sure it wasn't Alice."

"No. I'm not, uh...Fucking...Either of them," I replied, feeling slightly uncomfortable. "I'm just making sure they stay safe."

Heidi rolled her eyes and muttered, "Oh how did they ever survive without your watchful eye?"

I ignored her obviously rhetorical question. I looked at Bella and Alice. Alice looked her usual fashionable self in a short black and sequin-y dress and high heels. She looked cute- Like a kid sister. However, I knew that was not how many of the men who had approached Alice that night saw her. Hearing them think sexual things about Alice made my stomach churn. A slightly different reaction was created when I heard men's thoughts about Bella. My entire body tightened. I was angry. I wanted to kill them. It took a concentrated effort to not rush at them and just break them. Hearing them think of Bella like that produced a mixture of anger and an emotion I was only recently coming to understand in romantic terms- jealousy. But in being disgusted at these men's thoughts, I was also faced with the fact that their thoughts were no better than my own. It would be a lie to say I did not think about doing the same things to her.

And I admit, tonight I entertained those thoughts more than I typically did. Bella was always beautiful, and always sexy. But tonight she was showing infinitely more skin than she usually did. She wasn't a prude or even really that modest, so it was not as if I never caught a glance at her tummy or legs or decolletage. However...Tonight there was something about her. Something about her barely sunkissed arms and legs in the light of the bar. The way her hair fell in her face as she danced. The glow on her face from a mix of alcohol and dancing. She was wearing a short sleeveless dress, the top half black and lower cut than anything I had seen Bella previously wear, the bottom half silver and sequined, shorter than anything I had seen her wear before. I wanted Bella Swan in every single way I could have her.

She and Alice broke from the crowd of dancers and made their way over to our table.

"Hey, Edward," Bella smiled as she scooted in next to me, closer than she probably would have had she been totally sober, "Having fun with the devil?" she cast her eyes Heidi's way. She had probably meant to say that quietly, but had failed, and Heidi gave her a quick glare.

Alice had crawled into the booth as well. "Heidi!" she clutched onto her older sister, "I'm so glad you came out tonight. I know you don't like any of my friends, but I'm glad you're here." Alice was a friendly, if not slightly sentimental drunk. Not very surprising.

Heidi gave a forced smile to Alice before pulling out a cigarette. She lit it and inhaled deeply and slowly. She looked at me with an odd sort of grin before looking back at Alice. "So, which one of you here is Edward sleeping with?"

Alice immediately erupted into a fit of giggles. Bella just rolled her eyes, "Ignore Heidi. She's just bitter that Alice got tired of looking down her nose at everyone with her and moved in with me. Bitch."

"What time is it?" Alice's giggles had slowed and she now appeared lethargic.

Bella pulled out her phone, "It's a little past 1:30," she said and continued to play with her phone.

Alice laid her head down on the table, "I'm sleepy. Can we go home?"

"I'm ready whenever you all are," I replied, looking at Bella and Heidi. Heidi and Bella both indicated they were fine with leaving. "Do you want me to get the others?"

"I'll just send out a mass text that we're leaving," Bella said she stood up, "They can catch a cab or whatever whenever they're ready to leave."

We exited the club. I had never thought I would enjoy regular night air so much- But after spending a few hours in a club reeking of alcohol, sweat, smoke, and perfume, it was the best scent ever, right after blood of course. I carried Alice in my arms, apparently the last bit of alcohol had hit her. Her legs were too weak to carry her and she appeared to be drifting in and out of sleep. Heidi and Bella followed close behind. Heidi carried Alice's light jacket and purse. Bella was texting away on her phone.

I sat Alice down into the taxi. "Hey guys," Bella said as I let Heidi sit next to Alice in the cab, "I have an errand to run. But you guys go on home. I'll see you in the morning." And she started to walk towards the next available cab lined up outside the club.

"Can you drop off Alice at our place? I'm going to stay with Bella. She's still a little drunk, I don't want her wandering off by herself," I said to Heidi. Heidi nodded, and I ran to catch up with Bella.

She was already in a cab, and it was already pulling out of the line of cabs. I knocked on Bella's window, causing the cabbie to stop moving. I pulled open the door and sat next to Bella. "I'm coming with you, if that's okay," I smiled.

"It won't take long. Like half an hour, max," she replied. She seemed to be uncomfortable with me joining her. She was looking down at her hands.

"Where are you going?"

She ran a hand through her hair, "One of my professors...He's, um, he's grading my final assignment for the summer session and the grades are due at 8 a.m, and he had some questions about my paper."

It seemed strange, but I shrugged it off.

Twenty minutes later, the taxi pulled up in front of a skyrise of penthouses. The building was vaguely familiar to me; I had roamed near here with Jasper and the others. "Okay, I'm going up, you stay here. It'll be like twenty-thirty minutes, I promise." She gave my shoulder a squeeze before promptly leaving me in the cab and entering the building.

I paused for a minute. "Sir, here's the money for the ride. You can go on, I'll call another cab later," I gave the driver our fare and went inside the building as well. The lights above the elevator indicated that Bella had gotten off on the tenth floor. I ran up the stairs to the tenth floor. I caught her scent and followed it to penthouse number 1010.

Against my better judgement, I stood outside the door, listening.

"Did you do this?!" a male voice said loudly, but not quite yelling.

"I did," Bella quietly replied.

"Did you want us to get caught? Because I was under the impression that we had a good thing going here!" the man continued.

Confused, I read the man's mind. I saw as he saw- Bella, standing in front of him wearing the piece of fabric Alice called a dress, had tears in her eyes. He held in front of him a bit of cloth crumpled in his fist.

"Maybe I did!" Bella yelled.

"Did you not think I already knew?" I heard a door from inside the apartment open and another female voice entered the conversation. The room was totally silent for a moment. "Good god, Carlisle. She's a child," the woman said. I scanned the man's mind to see that she was an older woman- Not old, but older. Mid-thirties perhaps. She was pretty with caramel colored hair and fair complexion and brown eyes. She had been crying, mascara running down her face. But now she looked angry. A quick look at the surroundings revealed that she had thrown vases and plates in an earlier bout of anger.

"What is she doing here?!" Bella shouted indignantly.

"What am _I_ doing here? I _live_ here. And answer my question. Did you really think that you two were just so sneaky that I didn't know? Did I know the specifics? Did I know your name? Did I know you were barely past puberty? Did I know you were a student? No. But I knew there was someone else. I'm not a fool, despite what you two idiots think."

My mind raced. What was this woman talking about? What was Bella to this man? What was going on?

"If you knew why didn't you do anything?!" Bella replied. "If I knew my husband was fucking someone else my reaction wouldn't be to stand around waiting. Oh, nevermind- That wasn't your reaction. Your reaction was to jet off someplace else every chance you got. No wonder he came to me. He sure as hell wasn't getting anything from you."

I felt as if someone had punched me in the gut. It was slowly starting to form in my mind. This woman was the man's wife. Bella had been...Sleeping...With this man.

"I turned a blind eye to it because I had no concrete proof of anything. In my heart of hearts, I knew. But I also hoped that since there was no proof, that I was just being paranoid. However, when I visit my husband at his office and happen to find a pair of underwear that is not mine in his desk drawer, I realized maybe I'm not so paranoid after all."

The room was silent again.

"So take your underwear and get the hell out of my home before I do something I regret," the woman's voice was more strained now. "And if you ever try to contact Carlisle again, I swear to god, I will hurt you. And Carlisle, if you ever contact her again, I will make you sorry. When I come back out here, you better be gone, young lady."

A door inside the apartment closed again. It was just Bella and 'Carlisle.'

"Bella, why would you do this?"

"Isn't she going to leave you now?" Bella's voice sounded desperate.

"No. And I'm not leaving her. So here," he shoved the cloth he held into her hands, "Take this and leave. I'm sorry, Bella. I really am. You and I are over."

I felt strange. There was a lurch and pain in my chest I had never experienced before. I felt light-headed. No, this was no possible. Not my Bella. Not the girl who's eyes I had looked into beneath a streetlight with chants in my ears and seen nothing but goodness and a childlike purity. Not the girl who had taken me in and cared for me despite the fact that there was something very obviously dark about me. How could this be the same girl at all?

And then the final thorn to my heart. Bella stuffed the cloth, which I now assumed to be her underwear, into her purse and gave the man a kiss. Not just a quick peck, but a real, passionate kiss. "Goodbye, Carlisle," she muttered as she hugged him. She was starting for the door.

I stumbled back towards the stairs, feeling as if I might pass out, although I knew I couldn't. I gathered my bearings and ran down the stairs quickly and outside the building. I focused on being calm. I leaned up against the building. A few minutes later, Bella came outside.

"Where's the cab?" she asked, her voice tense and strained.

"I let him go so the fare would be cheaper. We can walk back if you'd like," I replied, my eyes refusing to meet hers, my tone cold and distant.

"Fine," Bella muttered.

We began our walk back to our apartment. Bella was completely silent, save for a few sniffles. We were almost to our place when she burst out into heavy sobs.

Good. Let her cry.

"What's wrong?" I asked. I wanted to act as if I didn't care that she was crying, but as hurt as I was, as angry as I was, I did care. And I thought she might also confess to me what she was crying over. She could redeem herself in my eyes if she confessed.

"Nothing," she cried, "I just drank too much and now I'm getting weepy."

A horrible lie if I ever did hear one. She was practically sober now.

"I'm so tired." Bella continued to cry. We were a mere fifty feet from the door to our building when she sat down and just bawled.

"Come on, Bella. We're almost home," I knelt down in front of her.

She just shook her head in defiance. Apparently she wanted to just sit outside and cry. Fine. She could cry out here on this sidewalk all night for all I cared. How could Bella be like that? My mind was unable to completely wrap itself around this recent revelation.

I continued walking towards our apartment building. "Edward!" she cried. "Please don't leave me!"

"Do you promise to come inside?" I asked.

She sniffled, and appeared to stop crying. "Yes. Just come help me up."

I went back and helped her up. She leaned on me completely as we walked the sidewalk, up the steps to our building, to the elevator, and to our apartment.

The apartment door was open. Immediately, thoughts of Bella's indiscretions left me. Familiar scents flooded my mind. Jasper, James, Rosalie, and Laurent. They had all been here.

Bella and I entered the apartment to find the place completely ransacked. "Oh my god," Bella gasped, "What happened?"

Alice. Where was Alice?

"Alice?!" I yelled, and ran through the apartment searching all the rooms. She was not here. Heidi and Alice had left the club nearly an hour ago. Alice had to have gotten home a half hour ago at the very most.

"Where's Alice? Edward? Is she in her room?" Bella had stopped crying and appeared frantic.

"Maybe..Maybe Heidi took Alice home with her," I hoped.

"I don't think so...Her purse from tonight is on the counter, and her shoes are over by the couch. I'm going to call her!"

As Bella called Alice, I quickly searched the apartment over for clues. How could Rosalie be apart of this? We had our differences, but how could she do this?

She couldn't. I found one of Rosalie's jackets- One that I had constantly derided her for how hideous it was- lying on the back of one of the sofas. I picked it up and checked the pockets. A note fell out.

_E-_

_They have her. She is alive- For now. _

_-R_

"She left her phone here," Bella said, holding Alice's phone in one hand. "I'm calling the cops."

Oh no. Jasper and his friends just had to kidnap the daughter of one of the most powerful men in Chicago.

"Bella, don't," I grabbed her phone from her.

"Why the hell not?" and she began to call the police from Alice's phone, which I quickly grabbed as well. "Edward, what the hell is going on here? We need to call the police. Something happened to Alice!"

"I know, that, Bella. But I have a pretty good idea of who's behind it. My friends...The people I used to live with, it was them. We can't call the police for this one."

"Why not?! Edward you're not being rational!" Bella was getting angry.

"Bella, listen to me. My friends are _not_ good people. They have killed more cops than I can count. And it is not hard for them to do. If you put the cops on them, the only people it's going to hurt will be the cops. I promise you that."

"So what do you propose we do?"

"We? We are doing nothing. I'm going to find them, you are staying here."

"I'm coming with you, Edward. Alice is one of my best friends. I'm not letting you go without me," she stood in front of the doorway, thinking it could prevent me from leaving.

I thought for a second. They could come back. They could get Bella. And despite my feelings towards her right now, I still couldn't stand the thought of James being in a room alone with her.

"Alright, Bella. You can come with me. I'm just going to warn you now, you're going to see alot of things that you will not understand at first. But we don't have time for questions now. I will tell you everything when I can, though. So for now, I need you to just trust me. Can you do that?"

"Of course I can," she replied in a tone that was so sure, so trusting. The way she answered me made it sound like I had just asked the most ridiculous question in the world. She sounded like the girl I had always imagined her to be.

With that, I picked Bella up into my arms, and I ran towards the old house I used to share with Jasper and co. I did not run at a human pace. No, I ran as fast as any vampire ever did.

I felt Bella's heartbeat speed up until I thought she might pass out.

I heard her mumble, "_Oh my god._"

**A/N: Wow, that was LONG. I'm not totally satisfied with this, buuut I feel it's good enough for now. Hope everyone liked it :D And as always, thanks for the reviews..You all are sweethearts :) Also, if you want to see pictures of what Bella and Alice were wearing out dancing, check my profile :) And to answer a few readers' questions:**

**slyt: Yes, Edward did get his bed ^_^ And *gasp* how can you hate Jacob? I lovelovelove Jacob..Both in this story and in the Twilight books. Oh well, I'm glad you at least like him in my version of him :)**

**Robin: I'm at a crossroads with Timeless. The next chapter dictates how the entire story will end, and I have 2 possible endings and I can't pick which one because I love them both. :( Thanks for reviewing :)**

**Dawn: Yeah, night is always better, haha. Everyone's asleep and I don't have to worry about being interrupted. It's great ^_^**


	9. Chapter 9

This was surreal. This was ridiculous. This was impossible. This was _not_ happening.

I had to be sleeping. This was the product of some bad booze. I was probably in an alcohol induced slumber, lying in my bed. I was just dreaming. Because there was no other place where this could be a feasible reality.

Edward was carrying me. He was running. Running at an impossible speed. The wind whipped at my face, causing my face to sting and my eyes to water. I buried my face against his chest.

So many questions ran through my head. My heart beat was going crazy. I felt dizzy. My stomach lurched. I couldn't breathe.

I peeked to see where we were, but we were going so quickly that I could not make any distinctive landmarks out of the blur.

It had been maybe three minutes when Edward stopped and sat me down beneath a tree. He looked at me and held me by the shoulders, "Are you ok?" he asked.

I stared blankly at him and nodded. I was frozen. I couldn't speak.

"Okay, this is where I used to live. They're not here. At least, I don't think. I can't hear them in there, so I'm going to go make sure. You stay right here, ok? Do not move from this spot."

Again I just nodded. I watched him as he zipped to a house across the street from the grassy patch where I stood. He went in without knocking. A few seconds later he emerged out of the house and came back for me.

He looked at me, probably noticing that at this point all I could do was blink and stand there with my mouth slightly open, looking like a fool. "Come on, Bella," he took my hand and began to lead me, "No one's there except Rosalie."

Rosalie. The word didn't fit into my schema.

We went inside.

Apparently Rosalie was a girl. A beautiful, intimidating girl. She looked at me and then at Edward. She shook her head and rolled her striking eyes- they were purple. But I could tell they were not real. They were obviously contacts.

Edward escorted me to what appeared to be a living room. The room was sparse- All it contained was a few sofas and a television. There were no pictures on the blank white walls or anything to give the room a sense of comfort. The room was cold, both in ambiance and actual temperature. I started to shiver.

He sat me down on the sofa before he turned to Rosalie.

"Where did they go? Why did they take Alice?" he demanded.

Alice. I had almost forgotten about her.

"I'm not sure. They weren't even sure when they were leaving with her. I stayed behind here in case you came here looking for her. I'll help you track them. I'm not the greatest at tracking, but I'm much better at it than you," Rosalie said.

What was tracking?

"How soon can you be ready to leave?"

"I'm ready now. What are we going to do with her?" she looked at me.

"I don't know. If we take her with us she could get hurt. But if we leave her here, they might come back for her, and without us she'd be totally unprotected."

"She'll slow us down."

Edward paused. "I have to take care of her, Rose. I brought this on her, I have to protect her."

"You brought this on the other girl as well. Don't you owe it to her to find her as soon as you can?" Rosalie argued.

"I'm sorry, Rosalie. I can't leave her behind. Especially now."

"What do you mean especially now?"

"She's seen me run. She knows that I'm not _normal._"

Rosalie rolled her eyes. She seemed to do that alot. "Look at her. She's in a state of shock right now. Go home, put her to bed, and when she wakes up in the morning she'll think the entire thing was a dream."

I wanted to speak. I wanted to voice my opinion. I wanted to let this Rosalie know that I would _never _think this was a dream. But I couldn't speak. Maybe this was a dream. Isn't that how some dreams are? You are nothing but a bystander and can't change anything? Can't move, can't speak?

No, no. This was not a dream. I had to say something. If I could just move myself to do so, I could confirm this as a reality.

"She'll wake up in an apartment that's been practically destroyed, and Alice and I will be missing. She will not think it's a dream. She may be human but she's not an idiot."

"Clean up the apartment and leave her notes from you and Alice saying that you've gone somewhere for a few days."

"Don't you think you're just wasting time arguing over this?" I said.

There, I did it. This was real. This was not a dream.

"I want to come. Alice is my best friend."

Rosalie glared at me. "Fine. But let's just hope that when we find your precious Alice that she's still alive. I know James was finding it difficult to not have her. The only reason he resisted was simply because she's worth more to them alive than dead."

I looked to Edward. "What is she talking about?"

"Ignore her. We need to leave," Edward pulled me up from the sofa. "Everyone ready?"

We went outside. I glanced at Edward out of the corner of my eye, and briefly thought on how different he was from what I had thought. What was he, anyway?

Before I could entertain the thought any longer, he swept me up in his arms once again and set off after Rosalie.

We- Well, Rosalie and Edward, were running for awhile. It had probably been a half hour since we left Rosalie's. "Where are we?" I asked, my face yet again against Edward's chest, guarding myself from the sting of the wind.

"Just a few minutes outside of Bloomington," he replied. "Are you doing okay?"

"Yeah," I muttered.

Truth was, I was hungry. And exhausted. It was probably close to sunrise and I hadn't had any sleep since yesterday morning. I hadn't eaten since dinner around six last evening. But I knew I couldn't tell Edward that. Rosalie had already claimed I'd slow them down, which I would do if we stopped to eat for me. However, they would have to eat at some point sooner or later. I would just eat then. Sleep could wait as well. My body was tired, but my mind was racing.

There was alot to take in. Least significantly, there was my situation with Carlisle- Or at least what was left of my situation with him. At the time it seemed like the entire world had just ended. I knew what I had with Carlisle wasn't exactly ethical or moral or even long-lasting. But I did know what I felt, and those feelings were real. But now, when other issues had appeared, I realized that not having a boyfriend was not the most important thing right now. I put those thoughts on the backburner. They were still there, but now was not the time for them.

Two things were on my mind, one of which was Edward's apparent super speed, which really hadn't sunk in yet. I knew the fact that he had made it all the way to Bloomington in only half of an hour was humanly impossible, but for some reason the weight of that reality had not hit me yet. Why could he run this fast? How could he? Was he some sort of science experiment gone wrong?

Ultimately more important was the fact that Alice was _gone. _ Edward's friends had taken her. And from the way Rosalie talked, it would be a miracle if we found her alive. I was confident we would find her alive, though, simply because I could not imagine Alice- bright, vibrant Alice- dead. It just didn't compute for me. What was immediately worrying me about the situation was the fact that Alice was not in a social position to just go missing.

Her father owned half of Chicago. It was only a matter of town before the entire Chicago police force was out looking for her. No doubt Heidi would point the finger at me, or rather at Edward. Which really did make some sense. I mean, who the hell was Edward Masen anyway? I didn't know anything about him, yet I just invited him to live with us? What was wrong with me?

I suddenly came to a realization. I had romanticized Edward. Until this very moment, he was a shy boy who had been bullied into following the wrong gang. I had taken him in, protected him. But assuming running was not his only superhuman talent, it seemed that the one who really needed protecting here was me. How did I know he was taking me to save Alice? How did I know he wasn't in league with his friends? In the past, not knowing anything about Edward seemed...Acceptable. But now the fact that Edward was practically a stranger was frightening.

"Where are we going?" I asked, my voice abit more shaky.

"Rosalie is tracking them-," Edward began.

"South. They've headed south," Rosalie called out from ahead of us.

"South," he said quietly, as if to himself, "Rose, do you think they've headed for that old place Jasper used to hang out in Mississippi?" I found myself slightly jealous of him calling her Rose, of them being on familiar terms. I found myself also thinking it ridiculous that I was jealous of that while being scared of him.

Rosalie didn't reply, yet Edward continued talking to her as if she had. It sounded as if they were having an entire conversation, only Rosalie wasn't speaking.

Something strange was going on here.

It was then I decided, I had to escape.

**A/N: Yeah, it's been forever..Sorry! :( I was out of town for a couple days...Personal reasons. And omg, I did just quote Twilight. :| I'm beyond pathetic. haha..Anyways...I'm sorry it took me so long to write this...I really was out of town...And then I had a bit of writers block, because although I know how I want this to end, I keep debating on the various paths I can take to get there so yeahh. Well it's 5 AM and I'm going to sleep now. I'll answer reader questions next update. And if this has tons of mistakes, I'm sorry...I wasn't the most focused of people tonight! I'll probably reupload this chapter tomorrow night with corrections and stuff, I just thought that for now this will do since it's been so long. If that makes sense? KBYE and please review..It makes me a happy girl ^___^**


	10. Chapter 10

The sun was peeking over the horizon. Bella was fighting back sleep. I could hear her stomach rumbling from hunger.

"Rose, the sun is coming up. We should probably rest," I called up to Rosalie.

I heard her sigh heavily. _Fine. We can stop. We'll have to find an abandoned house or something. _

I followed Rosalie as she zig-zagged around, searching for an empty house. I listened for thoughts, or at this time of day, dreams. She didn't find any suitable houses in actual civilization, so we went for a more rural setting. A few minutes later, we stumbled upon an abandoned farm house. It was in a moderate stage of dilapidation, but it would do for now.

The floorboards creaked beneath my feet as I carried Bella inside. She was barely awake. "Where are we?" she asked.

"We're just stopping for some rest," I sat her on the floor. "Is there a bed or anything like one for her?" I turned to Rosalie, who had just ran through the house.

"No, there isn't," Rosalie replied, sitting on an old wooden table in the kitchen. Or what appeared to be the remains of a kitchen.

"It's okay," Bella said, her voice flat and eyelids heavy. "I'm so tired now, I could sleep on nails and wouldn't notice." She laid on the floor, putting her hands beneath her head. I sat next to her. "Aren't you going to sleep?"

I forgot that Bella did not know the full truth of my, um, condition. To her, I was just some freak that ran fast. She didn't know that I hadn't slept in nearly hundred years. "Yes," I replied, "Yes, I am."

No, I wasn't. But I wanted to lie next to her.

I lied next to her, our faces almost touching. Thoughtlessly, I grabbed her hand and held it firmly. I smiled at her. "Go to sleep. When you wake up, we'll go find Alice."

She murmured something before closing her eyes one final time before giving into sleep. I looked at her for a moment, noting how peaceful she looked.

_How precious_ Rosalie sneered.

I turned my head towards Rosalie and let go of Bella's hand. I stood up and went into the kitchen where Rosalie still sat on the table. "Alright, Rose. It's time for an explanation for all of this. How did they find us?"

Rosalie widened her eyes before rolling them, "Are you really that arrogant? You really thought that Jasper and James would never find you, even by accident? Edward, Chicago might be big for humans, but when you're one of us and can cover the entire thing in a matter of minutes, Chicago is like an ant farm."

I knew what she was saying was true, and I should have known better than to try to hide from a vampire in the town that said vampire lives. It was stupid. I had been blinded by my selfish need to be near Bella.

"So that's it? They just happened upon me? I wasn't even at the apartment when they came last night."

"No, they saw you and some girl at Magnificent Mile awhile back. They put false thoughts at the forefront of their minds so you wouldn't realize that they were looking right at you."

I thought back to when I bought my bed with Alice. I knew James and Laurent were there- I had read their thoughts. But my mind-reading ability was limited in that I could only read what a person was most blatantly thinking about, not all the thoughts they were having at one moment in time.

"So what? They followed me?" I asked. I had made sure they hadn't. I had a headache once we got back to the apartment that day from having concentrated so hard on the tenor of their thoughts. I hadn't smelled them either.

"James managed to get a human to do it for him. To follow you, I mean. After James found out where you were living, he immediately told Jasper. Then Jasper staked out the place a few times before deciding to...Visit. Last night, he didn't know you weren't there. So when we got there and no one was home, he decided we could wait for you and your humans."

"What did he have in mind for his 'visit?'"

Rosalie looked down, "I don't know specifically, but I know it ended with Alice and whatshername-"

"Bella."

"It ended with Alice and Bella probably dying. You know Jasper and his sick sense of humor. Use your imagination."

"No thanks," I muttered, feeling sick at the thought of what gross delights Jasper had in mind.

"Anyway, we waited, trashed the place to pass the time. Then we heard someone talking outside the apartment door and messing with the door knob. We hid, just to assess the situation. They came inside. The taller girl, she apparently didn't live with you all, she seemed to think that the mess was the natural state of the apartment and complained about Alice living in such squalor. Alice was..Sleeping?"

"Drunk. Probably passed out."

"Yes, well, the taller girl put Alice to sleep on the sofa, put her things on the kitchen counter, and left. So we came out of hiding, and decided to just sit and wait for you. Jasper wanted to see the look on your face when you walked in an saw us all sitting around your helpless, sleeping human. But you took longer than Jasper had patience for, so he decided to just take her and turn it into a game. A scavenger hunt. Although, he's not going to be leaving any clues behind for you. He wants you to have to embrace all your vampiric abilities in order to find him"

"Aren't you a clue? Didn't he leave you behind to point me in the right direction?" I asked.

"No. When I opted to stay behind in case you came by the house, I told Jasper it was because I didn't care about any of this, but that if you did come looking for him, I would lie to you about where to go."

"Didn't he sense your dishonesty?"

"He could have, had it not been that I was primarily feeling loyalty towards you. He felt my loyalty, but he didn't know it was loyalty to you- not him."

"Wow," I scratched my head, "You're a sneaky girl. I'm impressed you went to the trouble for me."

Rosalie shrugged, "You were always better to me than the rest of them ever were, despite our...Dietary differences. Speaking of which, I am rather thirsty. And by the looks of it, you are, too."

I looked at Rosalie, the venom in her eyes had eaten away at the purple contacts, revealing her hungry black eyes- no distinction between pupils and irises. I assumed my own looked similar, it having been nearly a week since I last fed.

"You can go first," I offered, not wanting to leave Bella alone with a hungry vampire. I trusted Rosalie, but every slips up.

She looked outside at the sunny day. "Maybe I'll come across a farmer or something. I hope I don't have to get too close to civilization before happening on a human."

I shrugged, not sure what to say. Obviously I'd prefer it if she didn't happen on a human, and if she did, not to kill it. But I also knew I couldn't ask her to go against what she was.

"Well, wish me luck," Rosalie flashed me a mischievous smile and a wink before running outside into the sunlight.

I roamed around the farmhouse, seeing if there was anything useful I could find. I went upstairs. It was mostly empty except for a few stray pieces of old furniture. From upstairs I could hear Bella shivering. It didn't seem cold to me, but then again, I never felt cold. I searched through a closet and found an old, raggedy blanket. I shook it, making sure there were no bugs on it.

I went downstairs. Bella still lay on the floor, her legs drawn slightly to her chest. She was still wearing her dress from last night, but her hair had fallen from Alice's updo and was now wind-swept and messy. And she still looked beautiful to me.

I laid the blanket over her small frame and sat on the floor across the room from her.

I sighed heavily and waited for Rosalie to get back, turning over my thoughts. I thought of Alice. I thought of how I would tell Bella- if I told her- what I was really was. I could leave out the fact that I live on blood. I could just tell her _Oh, well, I can run incredibly fast, my senses are all vastly superior to that of a regular person, I'm stronger than any human, and I read minds- save yours. _That would be enough, wouldn't it? No need to scare her with any vampire talk, especially when I didn't even drink human blood.

I owed Bella the truth. I'd dragged her into this. Yes, she had invited me into her life, but I should have known better than try to live with a human. She deserved the truth. But I knew the truth would scare her off. And I didn't want her to leave- Even after we rescued Alice.

But maybe she could handle it. I thought back to the night we first met. There had been something in her eyes that suggested she was different. No, she had not been as good and innocent as I had thought her to be, as the situation with Carlisle had proven, but I knew she was a lot braver than most humans.

I covered my face with my hands as I remember Carlisle. Why would Bella do something like that? How could she? Did she know he was married? Had he tricked her into it? Had she tricked him into it? Was she using him? Was he using her? Did she love him?

I thought about how Jasper was most likely headed to Mississippi. I had lived there with them for a few years a couple decades ago. It was when I was at my most desperate to rid myself of my vampirism.

These thoughts swirled about in my head for what seemed like forever until Rosalie returned.

Her eyes were bright red, and there was a slight pink tint to her cheeks. "How far did you have to go to find a human?"

"Not too far. You ready to go get yours?" Rosalie asked.

"Yeah, yeah. You'll watch Bella?"

"Sure," she rolled her eyes.

"Rose..."

"Yes, Edward. It's not like there's anywhere for her to run to around here anyways."

"I'm more worried about something finding her."

"Don't worry," Rosalie assured me. "Now go get something to drink."

"Alright. I'll be back soon."

I left, hoping that putting my trust in Rosalie to keep Bella safe was a good decision.

**A/N: Woopwoop, another chapter. This would've been up sooner, except there was a major storm here the other night and my laptop's power cord got zapped and no longer worked, so my computer was running on nothing but battery power while I was sleeping and when I opened my computer the next morning, it was practically void of any power. Lamesauce. And then my modem somehow also got zapped, so I couldn't get on the internet. So I had to buy a new modem (well, my dad had to buy a new modem, bwhaha) and I had to buy a new power adapter for my computer ($70 WTF??) Anywho. Time for responding to my reviewers' questions ^_^ And oh, Bella and Alice's dresses will REALLY be in my profile now...I totally forgot to put them up two chapters ago :s ALSOOOOO: If you've seen the New Moon clips from Comic Con..What did you think?? Let me know!**

**slyt: Edward didn't dance because...Well, the first time I wrote that chapter, he did dance :O I'm not sure why I didn't have him dance in the final version of that chapter. I think just for pacings sake. The dancing scene didn't seem of integral importance to me, so I scrapped it. However, if you'd like to read it, I still have it, just let me know :D As for what Bella did that you weren't sure about, the way I wrote it, some might be able to infer what she did, but it will be explicitly stated soon. :) As for Bella running off...Yes, it was her idea to come along, but now she is starting to realize that she has no clue to Edward is or anything about him. I think reality is setting in for her now, that maybe Edward isn't this sweet, shy guy that she always saw him as. Thanks for your reviews and everything..They always make me smile :)**

**Dawn Run: Yep, Esme found out Bella and Carlisle's little secret! Bwhaha :) I think that was your only question, so..Thanks for always reviewing..You're such a sweetheart ^_^**

**emzigale07: Wow, your review was like..Amazing. Lol. As for whether other traditional pairings such as Jasper/Alice and Rosalie/Emmett will happen..I'm not sure. I know where things are going for Bella and Edward, but to be honest, I haven't put tons of forethought into the other characters..At least, I haven't definitively decided what to do with them yet. So maybe, maybe not. You'll just have to see ;) :P**

**RealMenDoSparkle: We'll find out what Bella is up to next chapter :)**

**And thanks to my other reviewers..Y'all didn't have any questions, but you guys are flipping awesome ^_^**


	11. Chapter 11

I awoke suddenly, as if waking from a nightmare or as if someone had pushed me. But my sleep had been dreamless and no one was near me, except the blonde leaning against the door frame, perfectly still.

The blonde. Who was that? Where I was? Where was- Edward.

And it all came rushing back to me. The blonde was Rosalie, Edward's friend. We had been running through the night, and now we were stopped for rest. Edward had been lying next to me when I fell asleep; I vaguely remembered that.

I quickly sat up, the blood rushing from my head. "Whoa," I steadied myself before speaking to Rosalie. I was so hungry. And after a night of drinking, I was really thirsty. "Where's Edward?"

"He's gone to get something to eat. I'm supposed to watch you," Rosalie turned around to face me. Her eyes- No longer were they an unnatural shade of purple, they were blood red.

"Oh, my god!" I covered my mouth, "What's wrong with your eyes?!"

Rosalie blinked quickly, as if that would fix them. "Nothing's wrong with them. We can't all have your warm ooey-gooey brown eyes." Her tone was irritated.

"Are- Are you," I said as I stood, my legs wobbling for a moment, "an albino?" She was blonde and pale. It could work.

Rosalie burst out laughing, "Yeah, yeah. I'm an albino. Right," she said before sitting on a step of the staircase.

"How do you know Edward?"

"Albino support group," she dryly replied. Obviously she was kidding, but she wasn't laughing anymore.

"He's my roommate. We met at...On the street, actually," I offered, thinking it might soften her to tell me the truth of how she knew Edward.

"No! No way!" she feigned shock. "Please, you're blowing my mind here."

"Why can you two run so fast?" I asked, ignoring her mock surprise.

"Secret albino super power."

I decided to ignore Rosalie altogether, seeing that she wasn't giving me any answers. I remembered my decision to escape. The plan was to escape, find someone with a phone, contact the police, and find Alice the normal way. It would be easy now- Edward was gone to get food, and Rosalie didn't seem to really care about me one way or the other. She wasn't even paying attention to me, but rather staring at her nails.

I roamed around the house, looking for anything I could find that might be helpful in my escape or to fight off Rosalie, if she decided to try to stop me from leaving. The house was mostly empty and had nothing useful- Except the kitchen. I looked through the drawers and found a knife. It was dull, but it could still break skin.

"What are you doing?" Rosalie stood in the door frame. Standing in door frames and rolling her eyes- They seemed to be Rosalie's trademark mannerisms.

"I, uh, just thought I could use this when we find Alice."

"For what?" she looked perplexed.

"To, you know, fight whoever took her."

Rosalie looked at me strangely and then smiled, "Good idea! You do that!" She was silent for a few seconds before she burst out laughing again. She had an odd sense of humor.

"I'm going outside," I said, gauging her reaction.

"Alright. Don't wander too far off, sweetie pie," she replied. I was getting sick of the sarcasm.

Once I was outside, I took my high heels off. I looked around. There was no indication of which way a road was. The farm house was in a clearing, surrounded by forest. Fuck. I ran a hand through my hair and peeked in the window to see if Rosalie was watching. She was. She gave me a saccharin sweet smile and wiggled her fingers in a wave to me. I smiled back and continued to slink around the house.

Now I was at the back of the house. I was fairly confident that Rosalie couldn't see me. I gingerly and aimlessly started walking towards the woods.

The closer I got to the woods, the faster my heart began to beat. I stepped a few feet inside the perimeter of the forest and began to run- Slowly at first, but as I gained confidence that Rosalie wasn't following me, I exploded into a full-fledge sprint.

I ran as fast as I could, still carrying the knife with me- Blade downwards, of course. I had no idea where I was going, no idea where I was. There might not be roads or people for twenty miles. The stupidity of my decision to make a break for it now instead of when we were near people crept up on me. I had been running for ten minutes- and assuming I was in the same shape now as I was in high school, I was probably a little over a mile away from the farm house.

I stopped to think and catch my breath. As my breathing slowed, I heard a strange noise coming from below a small embankment under a large oak tree. I crept closer to the source of the noise.

"Edward?" I questioned aloud. I looked further to see Edward holding the limp body of a deer.

Edward turned to face me, a red liquid dribbling down from the corner of his mouth. He- He was drinking the blood of that animal. His eyes were glowing more golden than I'd ever seen them. He had an odd sort of look about him. Wild.

"What the fuck?" I muttered.

"Bella!" Edward yelled when he registered me. He took haggard steps towards me, looking as if he was fighting his legs on the decision to walk. "Get out of here, Bella!"

I was frozen. I just stood there staring at him.

"Bella! I'm not joking! Get out of here! It's dangerous! ROSALIE!" he screamed, although it seemed more like a growl. "Get back to Rosalie. Now!"

I stumbled back and began running.

"Run faster, Bella! Run!" he growled again.

I heard leaves rustling behind me- Edward was starting towards me.

I ran even faster- It really felt like my feet weren't even touching the ground. I looked back and what I saw gave me an adrenaline rush.

Edward was running in and out of the shade of the trees- in and out of the sunlight. In the shade he looked like himself. In the sunlight he was a creature unlike anything I'd ever seen. At first glance, it looked to be a corpse. I looked again and it had a distinctly serpentine look to it.

Without thinking, I threw the knife I had at it- It stuck in the flesh of the creature, but yet it continued after me.

"Edward Masen!" Rosalie yelled. "Stop it!"

The creature looked up at Rosalie's arrival. Quickly Rosalie grabbed me and threw me over her shoulder and ran at her full speed back to the farmhouse.

She ran into the farmhouse and set me down. "What the hell, Bella?" she shoved me, sending me flying across the room. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?!"

My body slammed against the wall opposite Rosalie, and I fell to the floor. "Edward- He's- Did you see? What's wrong with him?" I asked, my heart still pounding.

Rosalie didn't respond and went back outside, "Stay put! Or don't and die. I'm being serious now. Do _not___leave this house!"

I sat on the floor where I had fallen. I wondered what twisted dream I was having. Wake up, wake up, wake up. Now, Bella. Do it. Now.

No good. I closed my eyes and leaned my head against the wall. My stomach growled. I was so hungry. Maybe I was hallucinating. Hopefully.

"Bella?" Edward's smooth voice said my name, but it was unsure in tone.

I opened my eyes to see Rosalie and Edward standing in front of me. Edward's shirt was torn from where I had thrown the knife at him.

"What the hell is going on?!" I quickly got on my feet and demanded answers, hoping my aggressive tone would hide the fact that I was scared out of my mind.

"Bella, I am so, so, so sorry about what just happened. You weren't suppose to see that or be out there. Rosalie was supposed to keep an eye on you," Edward shot a glare at Rosalie.

"Why did you chase me like that? What were you doing with that deer? Why do you look like _that_ in the sunlight?"

"Come sit with me in the kitchen. I'll explain everything," he held out his hand.

"_Do not_ touch me," I quickly shrank away from his outstretched hand and gave him a fierce scowl. I started towards the kitchen, Edward and Rosalie behind me.

I sat down at the kitchen table. Edward sat across from me. "Rose, can you give us privacy?"

Rosalie sighed quickly before giving him a sour look. She turned on her heel and left, her blonde hair bouncing as she walked.

I crossed my arms and sat back in the chair. "Well?"

"Bella," Edward said delicately, "There's obviously something very different about me. And Rose."

I was silent.

"Do you believe in the supernatural, Bella?"

"Like what? Ghost and goblins?"

"Something like that."

"Sure, why not."

"I need a definitive answer, Bella."

"Fine, fine. Yes. I believe there are things that happen outside the realm of physical science."

"Okay," Edward looked like my belief in the supernatural made him more at ease with this conversation, "Do you believe in..Um, vampires?"

I raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Are you saying you're a vampire?"

Edward paused. "Yes. Please don't be scared, Bella," he said quickly. "I know it seems crazy and strange, but it's the truth."

I didn't know what to say. "Like the vampires who are just regular people who drink blood? Or like...You're immortal?"

"For the most part, I'm immortal. I'm nearly a hundred years old, actually."

"So," I said, trying to decide which train of thought to go with. I wasn't sure I actually believed him. Edward Masen...A vampire.

"I don't drink human blood. I survive off animals. That's what I was doing with the deer back there. I mean, human blood is great, but I have moral qualms with drinking it. That's why Rosalie was supposed to keep you out of the woods. I don't drink human blood, but once I'm in hunting mode, my animalistic side takes over, and I have practically no self-restraint. I didn't want you wandering outside, because I knew if you came across me while I was in that frame of mind, it would be nearly impossible to stop me. Especially with you. Your blood is much sweeter to me than other blood."

I was still silent. Vampires weren't real. Edward had to be crazy.

"So you were chasing me because you wanted to...Drink my, uh...Blood...?"

Edward looked ashamed, but nodded his head.

"And Rosalie's a vampire, too?" I asked.

"Yes. Only, she does feed off humans. Don't worry, though...She's promised me she won't hurt you."

"And the thing in the sunlight? I thought sunlight burned vampires," I asked, skepticism seeping through my voice.

"That's more of a human belief. We are weakened in the sun, which is why when I was chasing you I didn't catch up with you immediately...Although if Rosalie had taken much longer, I would have eventually caught up with you. And obviously, we take on a different, um, form."

"It was disgusting. You looked like the rotting body of Lord Voldemort," I made a face, wondering how the incredibly attractive man in front of me and the creature in the woods could be the same.

Edward made a face and seemed to stifle a laugh, "Thanks. The sunlight shows us for what we are, or at least what the venom has turned us into."

"So the good looking Edward is just a mask?" I asked, feeling slightly dismayed at the idea, and slightly awkward calling him good looking to his face, although at this point, it seemed that if he could tell me he was a vampire and had a particular thirst for my blood, I could at least call him attractive to his face.

"I don't think of it that way. I mean, in alot of ways I'm the same person I was when I was human. Maybe the shadows show me for what I really am, what I still am. It just depends on how you look at it. Think of vampirism as a cancer, and sunlight as an x-ray. It just shows what's on the inside."

"Why do you look like that in the sun?"

"Well," Edward inhaled. "That's a complicated question, or rather..It has a long answer."

I scooted my chair closer to the table. None of this made sense to me, but I might as well make the best of it. "I have time."

"Well, it has to do with the origin of vampires. Vampire venom, you see," Edward looked uncomfortable, "Bella, maybe this conversation is better suited to another time. I think the basics of vampirism are good enough for now. Let that sink in, get comfortable with it. Then maybe we can get into the details."

We hadn't really talked about anything, I realized. He told me he was a vampire and that sunlight weakened him. "Okay, in summary, you're a vampire. Sunlight makes you weak, and...That's the basics of vampirism?"

Edward scratched his head, "No, there's more. Garlic doesn't work, crosses don't work, stakes through the heart don't work- And by work I mean they don't harm us. Vampires are super fast, as you've experienced. Vampires are super strong. Our senses are all very...Sensitive, for a lack of a better word. My sight, smell, hearing, touch, taste...All are very fine tuned. We don't eat regular food at all. Our eye colors change depending on how hungry we are. Black means very hungry. In Rosalie's case, red means full, while for me yellow means full. Human blood turns our eyes red, while animal blood turns them a sort of topaz color. Some of us have extra abilities."

"Do you? What about Rosalie?"

"Rosalie, no. I can read people's minds, though."

My eyes widened and I momentarily panicked. Every time I'd thought about him in a less than chaste way, every time I'd had mental arguments with myself over whether or not I was developing feelings for him, every time I'd thought about Carlisle- He'd known it all. Every dirty little detail. Assuming he was telling the truth, that is. "What?" I asked. "Seriously? What am I thinking right now?"

"I can't read your mind actually. I'm not sure why. I think that's why I liked being around you in the beginning, the peace and quiet. Mind reading isn't all it's cracked up to be," Edward smiled.

I was relieved. My secrets still were safe.

"What's Rosalie thinking right now?"

Edward paused, as if listening to something, "She's thinking about how incredibly stupid this entire situation is. She thinks I'm stupid for trying to befriend humans."

I raised an eyebrow, "Can you call her in here? So I can ask her what she was just thinking about?"

"Why can't you?"

"She hates me."

"She doesn't hate you, per say. She's just not a fan. Not yet, anyways. Rose just takes awhile to warm up to people, vampire or human. Although I guess she hasn't tried to warm up to any humans in awhile, at least not in an attempt to befriend them," Edward seemed to be thinking aloud. He turned his focus back to me. "If we're going to be on this trip to save Alice together, you and Rose should probably start making friends fast."

I sighed, "Rosalie? Can you come in here?" I called.

Within seconds Rosalie was standing before me. "What?" she flatly asked.

"What were you just thinking about?"

"Is he showing off his mind reading ability?" she crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "Human girls are so easily impressed." I heard Edward laugh.

"So it's true? What were you thinking about?"

"What I was, and still am, thinking about is how ridiculous this situation is. And that after this is over, Edward should leave you and Alice in your world, while he comes back to us."

"Us?" I asked, unsure who she was talking about.

"Me, James, Jasper, the rest," Rosalie replied.

"Who are James and Jasper?"

"Oh, wow, I haven't even really introduced you to Rosalie formally, have I?" Edward said. "Bella, Rosalie is one of the people I lived with before I lived with you and Alice. James and Jasper are two of the others. James and Jasper are the ones that have Alice. You've met them before, actually...They were there the night you and I met. Jasper was the one that was holding you."

I hadn't thought about that night in forever. I thought about how cold the skin of the man holding me- Jasper- had been, the glowing red eyes of the men surrounding me, Edward's pitch black eyes, the men chanting 'drink' over and over, Edward leaning in towards my neck. It hadn't made sense at the time. Vampire wasn't exactly an explanation I would have ever thought of. But after having survived the attack, I put it in the back of my mind, and save for the dreams of Edward I had the next few weeks, I rarely thought of the event. But now, thinking back, it did make sense. It all fit now.

Edward Masen really was a vampire.

**A/N: *Ducks as tomatoes are thrown at her* I'm not expecting people to be a fan of the lack of sparkling in the sunlight..I wrote this chapter like the morning after I wrote Chapter 10, so it's been ready forever, but I knew Edward not sparkling might be an issue for some people, so I couldn't decide whether to put it up or not. But in the end I decided I can't please everyone and just went with my original intent. And also, in case someone asks why didn't Bella notice Rosalie being affected by the sunlight, there is a reason for that..Don't worry :) There is a reason for everything ^_^ So please review...It inspires me to write faster when I know there are people out there reading this ^____________^**


	12. Chapter 12

Today had not gone as expected.

I had not expected that Bella was having an affair with her professor.

I had not expected that I would come home to discover Alice had been kidnapped by Jasper.

I had not expected to be running to Mississippi with Bella in my arms.

I had not expected to almost kill Bella.

I had not expected to be sharing the fact that I was a vampire with her.

But most of all, I had not expected Bella to react the way she did.

She seemed to have more issue with it as a logical possibility than anything else.

Of course, after coming to the full realization that I was not lying or crazy, she did pass out. But that was much better than how most humans would have reacted to such news. Most would have screamed, cried, cowered in fear. But not Bella. She merely passed out, which I assumed was because something which she had gone her whole life believing was nothing but a fairy tale was in fact very, very real, and standing right in front her. Part of her foundation for reality had been shaken. Fainting was understandable.

It was nearly sunset now. I had sent Rosalie to get Bella some human food. Bella was sleeping. After she passed out at the kitchen table, I carried her back to her sleeping spot.

She began to stir. I sat on the floor on the opposite side of the room from her. I wanted to give her some space if she needed it.

She sat up, blinking and looking around. "Hi," she said awkwardly.

I smiled, "Sleep well?"

"Yes. Something about sleeping on the cold, hard floor...Really invigorating," she joked. Good, she was being light-hearted.

"Rosalie went to get you food. Sorry I didn't get you any earlier, I just forget about humans having to eat so often."

She shrugged and smiled, "It's ok. Although I do hope she gets here soon because it's been like probably twenty-four hours since I last ate. And I've done quite a bit of running today." She mentioned her escapade into the woods in a frivolous manner. I was glad to see she was at ease with the topic.

"She should be back soon."

Bella inhaled deeply and exhaled quickly. She looked out the window. "Are we leaving once the sun sets?"

"That's the plan. If Jasper and them have taken Alice to Mississippi like Rosalie thinks they probably have, we should be there in a few hours. And hopefully we'll find Alice and bring her back home."

"How come Rosalie can go out in the sun?" she asked.

"You might not believe this, but Rosalie is incredibly vain," I said, a smile on my face. Bella laughed.

"I heard that," Rosalie arrived, a bag of fast food in hand. She dropped it down in front of Bella, as well as a bottle of water. "Enjoy. Now, what are you saying about me, Edward?"

"I asked why you don't seem to be affected by the sunlight like he is," Bella spoke up, perhaps taking my advice to make friends with Rosalie. Or at least to not be afraid of her.

"Oh. It's a hex. A spell," Rosalie stated matter-of-factly.

Bella was tearing into her hamburger somewhat ferociously, but froze when Rosalie shared that small fact with her.

"A spell?" Bella said after swallowing a bite of hamburger. "You mean to tell me that there are...Witches?" she said it as if she were ashamed of even thinking such a thing possible.

"There are. Only there aren't very many. There's maybe only twenty in the whole of Chicago. And they don't really enjoy mingling with vampires, so it's hard to track them down," Rosalie explained. "I get hexed every few weeks."

Bella raised an eyebrow, "You make it sound like going to get your nails done. And what do you mean?"

Rosalie shrugged. "There are different spells for different things. There was one created especially for vampires, it protects us from the sun. I go to the one witch in Chicago that will actually speak to a vampire and have her cast the spell."

Bella looked incredulous. "And why don't all vampires do this?"

"Most vampires don't care," I broke into their conversation. "Since for the most part, it is nothing but a change in physical appearance with a small reduction in strength. And vampires just aren't really fans of daylight regardless. Nighttime is much better suited to our style. Rosalie just does it because she can't stand the thought of being anything less than what you look at now."

Rosalie clung to her beauty. It was her closest connection to her human life she had left. She looked at me, not disputing what I had told Bella. She knew she was vain and was unapologetic for it.

"Plus, most witches won't have anything to do with vampires. In fact, I think Rosalie's witch is the only living witch that will do it, and I doubt she does it for many vampires."

Bella looked at me and then at Rosalie, then back to me. Then back to Rosalie. I guessed she probably had alot of questions, but didn't know where to start, or to start at all. "Wow. Witches. Let me guess, there are werewolves and faeries, too?" her voice slightly sarcastic.

"There are alot of mythical beings that are real, Bella. However faeries is not on that list," I smiled.

She frowned, "Well there damn well better be a Loch Ness Monster."

I shook my head, "Sorry."

"What is there then?" she said, taking a drink of water.

"There are werewolves. There are shapeshifters. There are witches, obviously. And there are hunters."

"Great," she clicked her tongue. "The world is apparently alot more dangerous than the evening news gives it credit for."

"Not really," Rosalie shrugged. "Of that list, the only one you need to be worried about are werewolves, and even then, they're mostly in rural areas, and there's only a full moon once a month. And you need to be worried about vampires, of course."

I shot Rosalie a look. I also noted that I should check what phase the moon was in tonight.

"Not us, of course. But other vampires," Rosalie clarified. "I mean, if anything, I should be the one worried. All of those, save the witches, are like the born enemies of vampires. Like they literally exist for no reason other than to kill us. Although witches don't really seem to like us either, but they don't try to kill us like the others do." I smiled to myself. This was Rosalie being nice. She was trying to ease Bella's fears in a roundabout way. This was improvement.

"What are hunters?" Bella asked.

"Vampire hunters," I replied. "Humans that possess the ability to kill a vampire. Regular humans can deter a vampire. But they can't flat out kill one. Hunters can."

Bella seemed intrigued by the idea. "How can I deter you? Should you ever attempt to suck my blood," she said, the last half of her sentence in a poor Romanian accent. I was torn between laughing at her poor accent and being upset with her for suggesting such a situation would occur again. But I realized it wasn't a crazy thing to ask to know. Accidents happen.

"Do not tell her," Rosalie cut me off just as I opened my mouth. "You might not have a sense of self-preservation, but I sure as hell do. You can't read her mind, Edward. This light-hearted joking could be an act. You can't just take her at her word on this. So if not for your own sake, do it for mine. Do not tell her."

I looked at Bella. She seemed slightly upset that Rosalie was accusing her of being untrustworthy. I thought for a moment. Rosalie was right. I couldn't read Bella's mind. And she had taken this vampire news really quite well. Maybe too well. But at the same time, I had lived with Bella for nearly a month now, and known for her an entire summer. While I admitted to not knowing details on Bella's life, I knew that she was trustworthy.

Both Bella and Rosalie were looking at me, each expecting me to give into their demands. Tell Bella. Keep it secret for Rosalie.

"Fine, if you tell her, I won't help you find Alice," Rosalie announced, after seeing that I was pausing in my decision.

I was stunned. "Rosalie."

"I'm not kidding. I will turn around and go right back to Chicago."

"She already told us they were headed for Mississippi," Bella said. "We don't need her."

"I said they were headed _south. _Mississippi is just one of many glorious options. Maybe they went to Brazil. I'm the only one here who can even remotely track. You need me, Edward, and you know it."

"Bella, she's right," I looked at her and shrugged. We did need Rosalie. And even then, I felt torn between my loyalty to Rosalie, who had always shown loyalty to me despite it not always making her life easy, and my desire to make Bella feel safe. "I'm sorry."

"Great. I'm stuck on a vampire trip with no way to defend myself."

"It was your idea to come," Rosalie snapped.

"That was before I was aware that you two were flipping vampires," Bella's voice began to rise.

"Well no one's making you stay. We are perfectly capable of finding Alice without you. Even faster, actually. We'd probably have her by now if we didn't have to stop and rest for you."

Rosalie had a point there. I looked to Bella for her response.

"Well, he said," she pointed at me, "That it wasn't safe to leave me there alone."

"He just wanted you around," Rosalie rolled her eyes. "We both know they're not going to go back to that apartment. They have Alice and now they're playing a game."

Bella seemed to be getting angry so I decided to step in. "Rose," I said in a severe tone, "That's enough. The sun is down now. If Bella's ready, we can leave." I looked at Bella and gave her a weak smile. She avoided eye contact with me.

"I'm ready," she muttered, standing up. She held out her arms, waiting for me to pick her up.

"Glad you've got the routine down so quickly," I joked, hoping she would at least grin. She didn't. I frowned and picked her up.

The three of us disappeared into the forest.

**A/N: Bella is so OOC in this chapter it's ridic. I kinda love it. Hah. I also had apprehensions about this chapter as well..Wasn't sure how people would feel about mythical beings other than shapeshifters (that is what the Quileutes in the books were officially, right?)...But I sort of wanted to broaden the scope of the story so there are werewolves, witches, and vampire hunters. Dun dun dun... ^_^ RSVP- Review Si Vous Plait ;) Wow, I am so lame! :O *shame* Haha, yeah, but no really, review :P **

**QUESTION: I was thinking of expanding the story to include Alice's POV. Sort of make Chapters 1-12 Book I and alternating between Bella/Edward, and the middle book be alternating between Jasper/Alice, and then in the end alternate between all four, or just go back to alternating between E/B. Would you all be down for that? Erg, let me clarify: Alice and Jasper's POV yes or no?**


	13. Chapter 13

This Shameless Moment -Part Two- Alice & Jasper

My visions had all but disappeared since Edward started to live with us. Strangely, I missed them. I'd had them my entire life and hated them, tried to rid myself of them, and tried to live like I didn't have them. I had only told my father about them when I was little, and he had told me it was better to not tell anyone about the visions. He had said it was because it was my special secret talent, and that if other children knew they didn't have it, it would make them feel bad. But when I got older, I realized it was because if I told anyone, I'd been thrown into a crazy house if I went around babbling about my visions of the future. I had hated the visions, hated keeping them secret. But now that they were few and far between, I missed them.

I'd have the occasional vision of something- For instance, I knew Bella would ask me to help her pick out a dress for going out Friday night, and I knew what I would pick for her to wear. But that was the only vision I'd had in a week. Typically, I would have two or three a day.

When I was fourteen years old, that is when I started to actively combat the visions. I discovered that they never occurred when I was drunk or high. So, armed with a seventeen year old sister and a sixteen year old brother that could pass for twenty-three, and more money than most people make in a lifetime, I made my foray into the world of alcohol and drugs. Coke mostly. Weed made me too mellow and contemplative- I was always scared that it might actually bring on visions. But coke made me alert and frantic and my mind raced with euphoria. Hallucinogens were okay, but reminded me too much of what I was trying to rid myself of to be a favorite.

I met Bella Swan when I was eighteen. For most freshmen in college, that first year of total freedom is when they go off the deep end of binge drinking and drug use. But I had been living like that since I was a high schooler. It was exhausting. And while I definitely was not trading in my martini glass for Friday nights in the library, no I would _never_ do that, I was tired of the constant state of being in an altered frame of mind. Bella was my out. She was sweet, funny in an understated way, and nonjudgmental, which was refreshing. Most of the people I ran into on campus knew about me and my reputation- Heidi and my faces had been splashed across local gossip and society pages all through high school- and sneered or turned up their noses at me.

Bella and I shared a single class that first semester, but we became incredibly close. The friendship was balanced. She was the quiet good girl, while I was the wild bad influence. Some weekends we hung out with friends and just chilled, a concept I found difficult to grasp at first, others we went out and gave the magazines something to talk about, a concept Bella found horrifying. Sophomore year we moved in together in a small apartment. Heidi was not supportive of this development, but I knew that if I stayed with Heidi, I would never shed my image. With Bella, I was free to change somethings and free to keep somethings the same. I missed Heidi, but I knew this was for the best.

Also, living with Bella meant living with more sober time, and ergo more visions. For the past few years I was starting to get used to the onslaught again, I hadn't really had to deal with them for so long. At first it was difficult, but right about the time Edward came, I had learned to live with them. I still didn't like them, but unless I wanted to fry every last brain cell I had left, I had to just accept them. But then Edward came, and they were so rare that I thought something might be wrong with me.

When Bella suggested we go out to celebrate Leah's return from her soccer clinic, I was, naturally, ecstatic. I still loved drinking and dancing as much as I ever did, I just realized they didn't have to be nightly or even weekly occurrences.

We got to the club. I drank and danced. My last memory was watching Edward talk to Heidi while Bella and I danced. The rest was blank until now.

I woke up in a bedroom that was not mine. I sat up, blinking the sleep from my eyes. The room looked like it belonged to a six year old boy. There were race cars and super heroes adorning the walls. The sheets had Batman on them.

I had gone home with various kinds of guys before, but never had I met a guy who was unashamed of the fact that he was still a child inside to such an extent. Apparently this guy was very open about it all. Good for him.

It was then I realized that I was still dressed, right down to my Jimmy Choos. This was confusing. What kind of guy brings me home and gets me in his bed, but then doesn't bother to seal the deal?

I quickly got out of the bed and started to look for my things so I could get them and then get out of here, hopefully avoiding any awkward morning after conversations. Somehow it was more awkward that apparently nothing had happened between us than if something had. Did that make me a slut?

I couldn't find my purse. Maybe it was in the kitchen or something.

I left the bedroom and saw some stairs, which I followed. The were pictures in the house of a family- a mother, father, two older girls, and two younger boys. Did I come home with one of the girls? They were the only ones old enough. I had only gone home with a girl once, and I remembered nothing of the ordeal at all.

The stairs ended at the front door. I walked towards where I expected the kitchen to be.

"Going somewhere?" a cool and collected voice said behind me. I spun around to see a boy, or rather, a man, standing there. The first thing I noticed was his bright red eyes. They were strange- frightening. Then my eyes followed the curve of his alabaster skin stretched taught over his sharp cheekbones. He had dirty blonde hair that was just long enough to be pulled into a ponytail. He wore faded blue jeans and a grey shirt that had a few small but barely noticeable holes in it. The way he stood was offensive, I felt as if I should run, but I didn't.

"Oh, I was just getting my purse. I'll be out of your hair in no time, don't worry," I smiled at him as I continued to walk towards the kitchen. I mentally thanked myself for not having sex with old Red Eye. Fucking creep.

It was then I felt him grab my arm, "You won't be going anywhere anytime soon. Don't worry," he mimicked me.

I made a disgusted face. "Excuse me, but I really do need to be going. Give me your number, and I'll call later."

He just laughed as he pulled me along with him as he walked towards the kitchen. I was headed that way anyways, couldn't he just let me go? We got to the kitchen and I was surprised to see two other men. Men with the same eerie red eyes and starch white skin, save the one who had more of an olive tone to his skin, but it had a ghostly pallor to it regardless. One man looking like this- slightly strange, but, eh, ok. An entire group of men looking like this- No fucking way. Alarms went off in my mind. There was no way this could be good.

"She's finally up," the boy who had dragged me to the kitchen said, his hand now tightly wrapped around my wrist. "What's the plan?"

My eyes widened and darted from man to man. "Plan? What's going on? Who are you all?"

"I'm Laurent," said the one with olive toned skin. He was sitting at the table, pen in one hand, the crossword in the other. "That fine fellow you've already met is James. This is Stefan," he motioned to the man sitting at the other end of the table. His hands were behind his head and his feet were up on the table. He was barefoot. His hair was black and had a slight curl to it. He seemed to look right through me. As if he saw me, but seeing nothing of interest, continued to look through the space where I stood. It made me feel like I was two inches tall. "And this is Jasper."

Jasper was standing and leaning against the so-dark-it-was-almost-black green countertop. He had short honey blonde hair. He was tall and muscular, but in a lean way, not a bulky way. His face was almost expressionless, except for a faint glimmer of a cruel smile. He was tapping his fingers on the counter as he looked me over and seemed to be thinking about something. He made me nervous for two reasons. One, there seemed to be a monstrous amount of ruthlessness underneath his calm exterior. And two, he felt vaguely familiar. Like I had seen him in a vision. But I knew I would remember that face and that icy stare.

"Okay, great to be on a first name basis with you guys, but I really need to get home," I replied. I tried to yank my wrist away from James, as he was apparently called, but he did not waiver in the least, but instead tightened his grip and pulled me back towards himself. I heard a crack. Then I felt a searing pain travel up my arm until a scream left my mouth. "Oh my god! My wrist! My wrist!" Tears were starting to form in my eyes from the pain. "You broke my wrist! Let go of me!" I yelled. I wanted to pull away, but doing so would only mean more pain. "Let go of me, you son of a bitch!"

"Let her go," Jasper passively said. He seemed more irritated by my shrieks than moved to pity by my tears.

James let go of me, and I quickly started to head for the front door. Forget the purse. I needed to get out of here now.

I got to the door to discover Stefan standing front of it. "What?" I mumbled, confused. How did he...? "Move out of my way. You can't keep me here."

"Yes, I can," Stefan smiled. "You're not going anywhere."

I was waiting for my adrenaline rush. That surge of energy people get during dangerous situations. I definitely felt the fear and the pain coursing through my veins. If only adrenaline could show up to the party.

"Let me out right now! You can't, you cant...Kidnap me! Don't you know who my father is? My face will be on every major news network in the country. You'll get caught!" I yelled, tears rolling down my face.

"We don't know who you are, we don't know who your daddy is. And frankly we don't care about any of that. As for getting caught, let them catch us. We'll see who wins that little match up," Stefan crossed his arms as he looked down at me.

I was so confused. "What do you want with me then? My father can get you money if that's what you want. Millions. I promise. Just please let me go. I won't press charges or anything," my tone went from demanding to begging.

"I can't think of a single thing your father's money can buy that we'd want," I heard James' voice coming from beside me. The pain in my wrist was unrelenting.

"My wrist," I started to cry more heavily now. "It hurts so bad. Please, help me."

Stefan took my wrist, much more gently than I had expected him to, and inspected it. He ran his fingers over the skin. Even the slightest pressure made me yelp in pain. He rested his fingers over my pulse. He paused for a few seconds before looking back at me. He abruptly dropped my wrist, the breeze from the air whipping around it from the fall putting me in more pain. "You'll live," he muttered. I started to cry even more.

James and Stefan looked at each other. "Stop crying or a broken wrist will be the least of your problems," James said sharply. He started to shove me back towards the kitchen.

In the kitchen Laurent still sat with his crossword, and Jasper still stood at the counter, the same calculating look on his face. I wanted to slap him. I wanted to slap them all. Actually, I wanted to shoot all of them in the kneecap. I was so mad. And scared. And in pain.

I held my wrist to my chest. Maybe I'd just pass out from the pain. "So what's the plan?" Stefan looked to Jasper.

"What do you all want with me? You don't want money? Are you just in this because you're all just fucking sick in the head?" I asked, trying not to imagine what horrors they had in store for me. I wanted my visions back. I wanted to know that everything would be okay. And if it wasn't going to be okay, I would like to at least know what was coming so I could better prepare myself to handle it. I desperately tried to have a vision. I looked for anything. But there was nothing.

Was that why I hadn't been having visions lately? Because I didn't have a future? Would this be my end? I tucked my hair behind my ears with my good hand nervously. I was going to die. Oh my god. And I was only twenty.

**A/N: So it took me forever to write this. Actually, it only took me like 2-4 hours to write this, lol. But it took me forever to decide how I wanted to write it. I really wanted to give Alice a voice that was distinctive...That when I read this or read Alice's dialogue, that it was different from how Bella and Edward narrate and how they say things. However, I don't know if I've really succeeded in that here..Maybe as Alice's narration goes on she will become more distinct. Anyways, thanks for your reviews. Sorry I've been slacking on updates, I just haven't been feeling very motivated to write lately..But now that I think I've plunged into Alice/Jasper, the motivation will come more easily. :]**


	14. Chapter 14

"Goodnight, Alice," a tall human girl patted the hand of the other, the shorter, human girl who was apparently passed out drunk on the sofa. The tall girl stood to her full height. She was quite tall for a girl. She surveyed the room we had just destroyed and sighed. "Pigs." She gave the girl on the sofa one last look before setting a purse on the counter and leaving and closing the door behind her.

We all came out of hiding. 'We' being Rosalie, James, Laurent and myself. We stood around the sleeping girl.

"This is her," Laurent said, "The girl Edward was with at Magnificent Mile."

"You would think he'd help his drunk girlfriend home," James chuckled, "Him being the eternal gentleman and all."

"I can't believe he's living with a human. I wonder if she knows her precious Edward wants to suck her dry," Laurent and James looked at each other.

"What are we going to do, Jasper?" Rosalie looked to me.

"We're going to wait for Edward to get back," I sat down in a chair.

"Then what?" she pressed.

"I mostly just want to see the look on his face when he sees his little human girlfriend surrounded by us."

Rosalie wandered around the apartment, snooping through the things she found. I could feel her jealousy. She was jealous of the human life. I would never understand vampires like Rosalie and Edward. I could feel their desire to be human again, but intellectually I could not understand them. Why would you want to be a weak little human?

I was getting tired of waiting for Edward. I saw the clock on the wall indicate that we'd been waiting for about forty-five minutes. Maybe he was out feeding. Another thing I did not understand about Edward: His dietary restrictions. Why? We were made to drink human blood. Humans were ours for the taking. Yes, I had been a human once, but that was over a hundred years ago. Everyone I knew and loved was dead, it's not as if I went about killing loved ones. These humans were perfect strangers and of no consequence or importance to me. And I knew that for all of Edward's wanting to be human again, almost every human would jump at the chance to attain even a fraction of the power he held as a vampire. The speed, the strength, the heightened senses, but most of all- the immortality.

We had what the human race had written thousands of stories and legends about, and Edward just wanted to throw it away. It made no sense.

We had been waiting an hour. Although they had not said anything, James and Laurent were getting tired of waiting. I looked at the girl on the sofa- Alice.

So this was the girl Edward had left us for. She was cute enough, as far as humans go. I wondered what Edward had planned for their relationship. Unless he turned her someday, this would only end with her death and him continuing what could only be described as a miserable existence. I knew he would never turn her, though. Edward probably valued her humanity more than anything.

He probably valued her more than anything.

A plan began to unfold in my mind.

"One of you," I said to James and Laurent, "Get the girl. We're leaving."

Rosalie looked to me quickly. "What are we doing?"

"Kidnapping her," I smiled. I sensed Rosalie's frustration with my shortness. She wanted details.

Laurent threw the girl over his shoulder. She was incredibly small. Had it not been for her developed breasts and the make up, I would have possibly mistaken her for a child.

We quickly exited the apartment and ran across town to our house, where Stefan had stayed behind. Edward bored him. Whereas I found delight in pushing Edward towards his vampirism, Stefan had no patience for it, and had passed on the visit to Edward's.

Stefan was surprised by the fact that we had brought back a human. "What is a live human doing in this house?" he was suspicious. He looked down at her curiously, as if a living human was something strange. Why he looked at her like this, I did not know. It was not as if he never saw living humans. Maybe it was he had never seen a living human being that was in the sole presence of vampires for more than five seconds.

"She's Edward's," Rosalie rolled her eyes.

"What, like a pet?" Stefan was perplexed.

"Like a girlfriend," James sneered. "Why the hell would you date a human girl? You try more than kissing, and you break them."

"What is she doing here?" Stefan looked at me. The rest looked to me as well.

"You all know it's somewhat of a game I like to play with Edward, trying to get him to give into his nature. It's a game he usually wins, but I think with a bartering tool now, Edward will be alot more willing to let me win. He'll come looking for her. And I'm going to make it so that if he ever expects to find her, he's going to have to go a little less human, abit more vampire."

"That's it?" Laurent was unimpressed.

"It's all you need to know for now," I cooly replied. There was more to my plan than what I had said, but I was still working out the details in my head. No need to bother the boys with the rest for the time being.

"So are we just going to sit here and wait for him?" Rosalie asked.

"No. We're going to take her somewhere. And Edward will just have to find us by whatever means he can."

"Where are we going to take her?" Rosalie was just full of questions.

"I don't know yet. I have a few places in mind. Who wants to come with me?" I looked at my coven.

All of the guys quickly volunteered; none of them had anything better to do. Rosalie, though, opted out. "I don't really care about this, honestly. Plus, my witch is here. If this little escapade takes too long, the hex will wear off, and I won't be able to find another witch to redo it on such short notice."

Rosalie and her silly vanity. How something as stupid as looking hideous in the sunlight could bother someone, I could not understand. I looked at her and read her emotions. She was feeling loyal. I wondered to whom she was feeling loyal. I hoped it was myself, but she had always seemed to be quite fond of Edward when he had been around. I hoped she wasn't trying to stay back to help him. I weighed Rosalie's vanity against her devotion to Edward. Vanity won.

"Fine, stay here if you like," I shrugged at Rosalie. "You'll miss out on the fun, but it's your decision."

"Well, I'm sure I could find you if I wanted join in on the fun," she smiled and shrugged.

I directed Stefan to pick up Alice, gently of course, although her alcohol-induced stupor seemed quite deep.

We began our run. I still hadn't decided where to go. We were right outside Indianapolis when the sun started to creep over the horizon. We took shelter in a house in a middle upper class suburban home.

We entered in through the back door, which led into the kitchen. A middle aged woman in a bathrobe stood in the kitchen, packing school lunches. She did not have time to scream before James killed her. I went upstairs to discover who I presumed to be the woman's also middle aged husband. He stood in his bedroom straightening his tie. His eyes were a flash of confusion and then fear, but only for a few seconds. I didn't give him time to realize what was going on.

When I exited the bedroom, I saw that James had killed two young boys- twins, actually, their small bodies lying on the floor of their bedroom, visible from the hallway as I passed by the room. One only had one shoe on, while the other was still in rocket ship pajamas.

"Put the bodies somewhere," I instructed to James, "When she wakes up, she can't see them. I don't want her screaming so loudly that we have to kill her as well."

I went back downstairs, where Stefan still had Alice over his shoulder, "Go put her upstairs in one of the bedrooms. Let her sleep the alcohol off."

James put the bodies in the basement, and Stefan put Alice in one of the boys' bedrooms.

I sat on the counter in the kitchen. "So, what's the plan?" James asked.

"I'm not entirely sure yet," I replied. It was better to outright deny any plans than to give a half-ass outline. I liked to work with definitives. "Let's just relax and wait for the girl to wake up."

We waited for Alice to awake. Laurent, always having been a logophile, even in his human life, found the newspaper and set to work on the crossword puzzle. Sometimes the ones in reference to pop culture were difficult for him; being a vampire did not really lend itself to being up to date on such a topic. Stefan sat across from Laurent, attempting to talk to him, much to Laurent's dismay. Of course, Laurent just drowned him out, but that didn't matter, Stefan would talk just to hear himself talk. And James stalked about the house, going through everything. He was restless. Apparently, Alice's blood was particularly appetizing for him. He could control himself, but the scent and thought of it put him on edge. And I sat on the counter, going over my options of what to do with Alice.

Eventually she awoke, and was escorted down to the kitchen by James, who held her by the wrist. The fear and worry was evident on her face. Or maybe it was more evident to me because I felt her fear and worry, and therefore looked for any nuanced clues to her emotions.

She had pretty green eyes, and shoulder-length dark hair. That was one thing I liked about human girls, the variety of eye color. With vampire women, it was all red, which frankly, isn't a very pretty color for eyes. Her face was angled, but soft. Her cheekbones were just a touch defined. Her nose was slim and feminine. She was slender, and had very few curves- In fact, I'd say she was a stick, like a girl who hadn't reached puberty yet, but her breasts gave away the fact that she was over the age of thirteen. Plus her face was that of at least a seventeen year old. Given the fact that she was living in an apartment on her own with Edward, I guessed her to be about twenty-one years old.

She was listening as Laurent introduced us all to her. When her eyes rested on me, a wave of recognition hit her. I wondered where she recognized me from. I didn't recognize her, but then again, I never took note of humans unless I was about to kill them, and she was still alive.

"Okay, great to be on a first name basis with you guys, but I really need to get home," Alice tried to seem friendly, but the sarcasm bit through to the surface. There was only a hint of worry in her tone. She tried to break free James' iron grasp. He squeezed her wrist tighter. I heard the familiar sound of human bones crunching. A few seconds later, I was hit by a wave of both sound and pain. Alice was screaming out, tears forming in her eyes. I typically could block out people's feelings, only sensing them when I decided I wanted to, but Alice's misery was so great- it came tearing through my defenses.

I kept my face still and calm. When I had first been turned and had discovered that I could feel the emotions and feelings of those around me, it was hard to not wear their emotions on my face. But over the years, I had gained complete control. There was little correlation between my thoughts and emotions and my facial expression anymore. It was as if I had rendered the muscles in my face motionless.

"Let her go," I said as non-chalantly as I could, despite the waves of suffering Alice was putting off. James let her go, and she immediately ran off towards the front of the house. Stefan went to head her off at the front door. With her gone from the room, relief came. I sighed.

I heard more yells and cries from the front of the house. This would get old very quickly. Humans were exhausting when alive. How could Edward live with this? I looked to Laurent, he had gone back to the crossword puzzle. How could he focus with her screaming like that?

Stefan led Alice back into the kitchen. She was radiating a lot of emotions. Anger. Fear. Frustration. Complete misery. And the desire to cause us bodily harm. A lot bold emotions for such a small human. I closed up; I cut her emotions off from myself.

"So, what's the plan?" Stefan asked. I guess it had been a few hours since he'd last asked me. I should have had one by now.

"What do you all want with me? You don't want money? Are you just in this because you're all just fucking sick in the head?" Alice looked at us all sharply.

"We don't want anything from you," I said in an indifferent tone. "We're not going to hurt you."

"Are you kidding me?" she rolled her eyes and held up her arm, showing us her broken wrist.

"We're not going to hurt you in anyway that will cause any permanent damage," I clarified. "Now, if you will just please try to behave, it will make your time with us much more tolerable."

"I want to go home," the tears were coming back. Shit. Nothing irritated me more than the sound of crying.

"And you'll get to go home," I snapped, "If you just stay calm."

All I got in reply was more crying. She obviously wasn't even listening to me anymore. I decided to give in. "Alice," I said sternly. "You're coming with me." I took her by her good arm and dragged her back upstairs. I took her to the room where I had killed the man earlier this morning and shut the door behind us. There was a chaise at the foot of the bed, I sat her down on that and then sat down with her. I held her broken wrist and looked her square in the face and focused.

Slowly, her tears stopped, and she could no longer feel the pain. She looked bewildered. "My wrist- It doesn't hurt anymore. How did you do that?" she looked at me.

"I can control emotions- Well, I can control the chemical reactions in the brain, which are what emotions are anyways. Pain isn't exactly an emotion, but the perception of it is a chemical reaction, so I made it stop. For awhile anyway. I give it an hour before the pain comes back," I explained in a bored tone.

Alice's green eyes grew wide. "How is that possible? What are you?"

"I don't see how that's relevant," I shortly replied.

She looked like she wanted to press the issue, but decided she had more important things to ask. "What do you want with me? Please let me go. I won't tell anyone."

I was about to tell her that it wasn't really her I wanted, it was Edward. But I decided against it. No, I was going in an entirely different direction with this now.

"Look," I drew closer to her and took on a friendly tone, "I'm going to try to help you get out of here. This whole thing was the others' idea. Just give me time to come up with a plan so that the both of us can escape, okay?"

Alice seemed incredulous. "You certainly seemed like the boss down there, they were all asking you what to do."

"Well, I'm sort of the brains of this operation. They're much stronger than me, though. We'd never get away from them if I just announced I was taking you and leaving. They'd never let me."

She raised an eyebrow. She wasn't convinced. But at this point, what hope did she have otherwise? "Okay. Do you think they'd be okay with going to the doctor and getting my wrist fixed? You probably don't feel like working your mind voodoo every time it starts to hurt, do you?" she said listlessly.

She was right. I didn't particularly feel like taking the time to fix the pain in her head. But I would not risk taking her to a hospital, either. Witches could heal a broken bone just as efficiently and well as a doctor, if not better.

"We'll get your wrist fixed," I managed to crack a smile. The action was almost foreign to me. I patted her hand reassuringly. "Just trust me, okay?"

She sighed and shrugged. "Fine." She didn't seem hopeful that I could help her.

"Are you hungry?" I asked her. "It's nearly noon."

"Wow, I am actually. Guess I've been too upset to think about food, really."

"Come on," I took her by the hand and helped her to stand. She wobbled abit on her high heels. "Let's go get you something to eat."

I lead Alice to the kitchen, where I instructed Stefan to put together something for Alice to eat. The rest of my coven noticed how Alice seemed to be in better spirits, or at least not crying anymore or begging to be let go. They probably realized I had used my power on her. Reading and sensing emotions was fine, it was easy. But to change a person's emotions completely took focus and energy, so it was rare for me to bother with it.

As Alice ravaged a plate of bacon and eggs, I put the final touches on my plan.

Alice obviously meant a lot to Edward. Laurent and James had said they had been looking at beds when they saw them at Magnificent Mile. They were sharing a bed, so things had to be serious. I doubted that they could even have sex with her being so tiny and fragile, but Edward would probably spew some shit about "my morals prevent me from having regular relations with a woman;" that seemed like something human women might fall for, and be able to put off explaining to her the real reason why he couldn't have sex with her. But he had taken on the challenge of living with a human, so I could only assume that Alice was very important to him. He would die before he let her lose her humanity, before he let her become a vampire.

But I was going to make it so she would want to become a vampire. That she would beg for it. I wouldn't use mind control to do it. Edward would read straight through that. No, I was going to make her genuinely want it. And how was I going to do that?

I was going to make Alice fall in love with me.

**A/N: Woot Jasper :D I don't think his plan is very clear as of right now. I mean, I know his plan in its entirety ;), BUT I don't think I wrote it very clearly in that the reader will totally understand it. I tried to, but it was hard to do so without spoiling some things, so if you understand what's going on YAY, if not, I apologize. Anyway, I haven't answered readers' questions in forever, and since I'm awake enough to do so today, I will do so now :D**

**slyt: Edward didn't notice the human following him and Alice back to his apartment because he was focusing on solely on hearing James or Laurent's thoughts, as he expected them to be following him. And don't worry, Jacob is not a vampire hunter. If he was, Edward would have known it from the minute he saw him. And I haven't mentioned Stefan since chapter 2, so that's probably why you don't remember me mentioning him, haha :)**

**emzigale: I haven't decided exactly what my vampire hunters are going to be like yet, but there might a slight van Helsing influence :)**

**FRK921: Edward in my story was changed when he was twenty. His back story is pretty much completely different than what it is in Twilight...And when I switch back to the BxE POV, you'll get to read it :) And yes, that was Jasper in the first chapter, hehe. As for Alice and Emmett becoming vampires, I'm not totally sure on either one currently. You'll just have to see :)**

**Thanks for the reviews everyone!!**


	15. Chapter 15

Jasper had said he'd help me get back home. I was skeptical. But he had at least temporarily put me out of pain, so he had won a few points with me. And he said that he'd get help for my wrist. I wanted to trust him, although I knew he really hadn't done anything to earn that trust. But trusting him made me feel better. Safer. Like the situation wasn't as bad as it actually was.

"How'd you know my name?" I asked him after I had finished my bacon and eggs. I avoided eye contact with the others.

"It's what the girl that dropped you off at your apartment called you," Jasper replied.

I furrowed my brow. "Bella? Did she have long brown hair?"

"Yeah. Long brown hair, tall." Tall. Heidi. Why hadn't they taken Heidi as well? "Who's Bella?"

"No one important," I lied. "But Bella's not tall, so whoever it was that dropped me off wasn't her." I didn't want to drag either Bella or Heidi into this, and I regretted mentioning Bella. "So what are we waiting around here for? Is this your house?"

"Oh, no. I'm not sure who lived here. I mean, there was a family that lived here. But they're gone now."

"We killed them," James seemed to boast. My eyes widened.

"What?!" I gasped weakly. I looked to James briefly, but something about him made me quickly avert my gaze. I couldn't stand to look at him.

"Does she not know?" Laurent looked to Jasper, who's face was, as always, stoic.

"Know what?" I asked.

"You might as well tell her, Jasper. I don't see the harm in it."

Jasper turned around to look at Laurent. I couldn't see the look he was giving him, but it must have been stern because Laurent immediately dropped the topic and didn't bring it up again.

"I'll tell you later," Jasper smiled.

"Okay," I awkwardly replied. "So are we just going to sit around the house then?" The fact that they had killed the family who lived here was seeping in, but at the same time, it was hard to get worked up into a fearful frenzy considering we were all just sitting around and one of them had even made me breakfast.

We hung around the house until sunset, up until which point we had watched TV, read books, magazines, shockingly average things for people who claimed to have just killed an entire family. They had allowed me to move freely about the house, although James was always within a hair's breadth of me, which I found unnerving. If I hadn't feared breaking my other wrist, I would have punched him square in the jaw. While I wandered about the house, I heard them all talking to each other in low whispers. I was curious as to what they were talking about, but I knew trying to find out was useless. They always stopped talking just when I was close enough to make out what they were saying. Eventually they stopped talking, and I sat on one end of the sofa, with Stefan on the other end. Whenever my wrist would start to hurt again, I would go as long as I could without telling Jasper, I didn't want to bother him. But the pain would get unbearable, and so I'd have to ask for his help.

At sunset, Jasper gathered me up in his arms, "Hold on tight, Alice," he said gently in a soft voice. I was confused, but obeyed. Jasper and the others started running. It started off like a regular run. But it soon accelerated into a speed faster than I'd ever gone in a car. I had to focus on faraway landmarks and scenery to keep from getting sick. "What the hell is happening?" I asked aloud.

"We're going to get your wrist fixed," Jasper replied.

I looked ahead, where Laurent was about a hundred meters in front of us. James was at an even pace with Jasper, while Stefan lagged behind. The scenery changed from a suburban neighborhood to the woods and then to a small town. By the time we stopped, the sun had completely set and the only light came from the soft glow of the two streetlights in the center of the small town's downtown square. We were in front of an herbal remedy shop. All the lights were out, but Jasper went in anyway. He turned to the rest of the boys. "You all go get something to eat." They silently obeyed and dispersed.

"I don't think any herbs are going to reset a broken bone," I dryly remarked. "Plus, breaking and entering- Nevermind. I forget that you kill people. Breaking and entering isn't really a big deal after that."

Jasper chuckled. "Sophie!" he called after he shut the door behind us. He flipped on the light and set me down. "Sophie, I know you're in here."

There was a racket above us. Someone was upstairs, it sounded as if they were stumbling. A woman appeared at the top of the stairs. She did not look pleased at all to see us. "Jasper Whitlock. I told you to not ever come back here!" she pointed a finger at him as she walked downstairs. She had short, chin length black hair and dark brown eyes. She was taller than most girls, but not as tall as Heidi, and not as skinny as Heidi either. But not really fat. Just sort of average. She looked to be in her thirties.

"I know. But I need a favor."

"Of course you do! Look, I'm almost sorry, Jasper, but I'm just not doing this anymore. Witches who help vampires can get in serious trouble," she crossed her arms. She looked at me, "Who's this?" She looked at me more closely. "What are you doing lugging a human girl around?"

A human girl? Weren't we all human here? Although I did have reasonable doubts about Jasper and his friends being human, due to their odd appearance and Jasper's ability to manipulate my emotions. But despite that, overall, he still seemed to be a human being. As did this woman. And wait, did she say witches? And vampires? What?

"This is my friend Alice. She broke her wrist-," Jasper began.

"_James_," I corrected him, "broke my wrist."

"Yes, James accidentally broke her wrist. And because I can't very easily go to a hospital to get her wrist fixed, I was hoping you could help me. Please, Sophie? I'll owe you."

"Like a bunch of peppermint and rosemary is going to fix this," I muttered.

Sophie looked at me and raised an eyebrow. "You'd be surprised what abit of peppermint and rosemary could fix, Alice," she said my name as if it burnt her mouth.

I looked to Jasper, "Why did you bring me here? Your little mind control is going to wear off soon and I'm going to be in some serious pain again. Can you please take me somewhere where someone who knows something about actual medicine can help me?"

Sophie seemed quite offended by my words.

"Alice, you know how I can control feelings? Well, Sophie is a witch. She knows a spell for healing broken bones," Jasper explained.

I rolled my eyes. I had heard Sophie call herself a witch and call Jasper a vampire, but I didn't take it seriously. "Right. And you really are vampire. Come on, I'm not stupid," I was insulted that he would think I would believe such bullshit.

"No, it's true, Alice. Sophie, show her. Fix her wrist."

"Jasper, I told you that I'm not helping you. It's against the rules, and I already have enough infractions from helping you in the past. If I get caught, I'll be stripped of my magic."

"Please, Soph," Jasper's voice took on an almost innocent tone.

"Why don't you just use your mind manipulation thing on her?" I sarcastically remarked, crossing my arms.

"Oh please, like I wouldn't put up defenses around Jasper Whitlock," Sophie seemed to be offended by my suggestion.

"I can't do it to Sophie. She uses spells to put up defenses so my talents are useless against her. Actually, that's sort of what she's known for- Her ability to create spells against my kind. So I have to kindly ask her to help me."

"Fine," I held out my wrist to Sophie, "Don't consider it a favor to him. It's my wrist that's broken, I'm the one that will be in unbearable pain if someone doesn't help me. Consider it a favor to me."

"I thought you didn't believe that I could help you," Sophie sneered.

"Well I'm not really in a position to turn down potential help, now am I? So, do whatever it is you claim you can do. Fix the bones, give me some natural painkiller, I don't care."

Sophie looked at Jasper who mouthed the word 'please,' and then at me. "Alright. I'll fix your wrist. But Jasper has to promise this will be the last time I _ever_ see him."

"Isn't this a favor to Alice?" Jasper smiled. He seemed to be alot lighter and friendlier around Sophie. "Don't get me mixed up in this."

"It is. And the favor I want in return from her is for her to get you to promise to never show up at my shop ever again," she looked at me, urging me on to ask him.

I exhaled, "Jasper, do you promise to never show up here again?"

"No," he grinned. "But, Sophie, Alice held up her end of the deal. She asked me what you wanted her to, now fix the wrist."

"I asked her to get you to promise to not come back, which she didn't, but since I'm tired of arguing with you over this, I'll fix her wrist. Here," she grabbed my wrist. She placed a long fingernail on the underside, and started mumbling words I didn't understand. Suddenly, there was a spark between my wrist and her nail. I felt the bones in my wrist realigning. It was an odd feeling, the bones shifting under my skin. I looked at Sophie, dumbstruck. She gave me a pleased look. "Believe in witches now, sweetheart?"

"That didn't sound like any spell I've ever heard," I muttered.

"Hollywood typically goes with the Latin brand of magic. I prefer Celtic. The Celts were casting spells while the Romans were still in diapers," Sophie shrugged before looking to Jasper. "Well, I fixed your friend's wrist. Get out."

Jasper just smiled, but did begin to leave, allowing me to exit the shop first. "Thanks, Sophie. See you in another ten years?"

I heard Sophie mumble something and then say, "Not if I have anything to do with it." She then promptly shut the door behind us. We were alone on the deserted street.

I took in the fact the we were alone and grabbed Jasper's arm, "We're alone! The others aren't around. Take me home!"

Jasper shook me off of his arm, "We can't just leave. James is a tracker. It would be hard to get to a place where he couldn't find you. We could take you home right now, but he'd just follow us there, then he'd kill you and your entire family. Is that what you want?" Jasper seemed exasperated by me.

"No," I replied in a defeated tone. "But I don't think you understand how I'm feeling right now. I mean, you and your friends fucking kidnapped me for reasons none of you can quite explain beyond you were just wanting some company. And, oh, by the way, you killed an entire family this morning and act like it's just adorable. And you can control how I'm feeling, so I don't even know if I can trust myself anymore. Then you take me to a witch doctor, but not before running through the forests like a damn train. And I'm supposed to be a-okay with this and not notice when I have opportunities to escape?" I inhaled deeply, having just had a small break down that I hadn't even seen coming myself. Jasper raised an eyebrow.

"Okay," he slowly said. "First, beyond your pain levels, I haven't manipulated any of your feelings. So whatever feelings you may be having right now, they are purely your own. I promise. Secondly, I know you're scared, and I know you want to go home. And I will help you get there, Alice. Please, just trust me." He placed a hand on my shoulder, and for a moment, his face softened. But it was only for a moment, and then the wall went back up.

I didn't reply, instead just shrugged his hand away from my shoulder. "Well, where are the rest of them? Gone out on a killing spree for the giggles?"

"You use bitter sarcasm as a defense, huh?" Jasper looked at me as we walked down the dark street. "Are you like this in your regular life?"

"No. In my regular life I don't hang out with serial killers."

"Yeah, but you heard what Sophie called me in there didn't you?" he said quietly. We were passing by a clothing store. I looked in the window and saw my own reflection. My hair was wind-whipped, and my make up smeared. I was still wearing my short black dress and high heels. I ignored Jasper's question.

"So, I'm guessing since you're down with the whole killing thing, shoplifting wouldn't be a big deal, would it?" I looked up at him, trying to muster up a friendly and innocent smiled. I was pretty sure I succeeded.

"How do you think I get my clothes?" Jasper replied, a slight glint of mischief in his eyes. "What do you want?"

"Hmm," I replied as I pressed my face against the class window, my breath fogging up the space before me, "You see that tank top on the back wall, the red one? I want that. In an extra small. And then those shorts beneath it, those. Size double zero."

"You want some shoes other than those?" Jasper looked down at my feet. I grimaced. If I got new shoes, I couldn't wear these. If I wanted to keep these, I'd have to carry them around with me, which I didn't want to do. But these were my absolute favorite Jimmy Choos. I knew there were other Jimmy Choos out there, but I loved these and wasn't sure if I could ever find another pair just like them.

"Fine," I replied. "Get me some shoes, too. Size 5." I blinked, and Jasper was gone. I heard glass break, I looked and saw he had broken the window adjacent to the one I had been looking in. An alarm was going off. I blinked a few more times. Jasper appeared back outside and grabbed me up with one arm, my clothes and shoes in the other hand.

He ran with me and my clothes in his arms until we hit the forest again. He set me down and handed the clothes to me. "Here you go. Change. I'll turn around." I laughed. "What?" he looked awkward.

"You can kill a family and not bat an eyelash, and you can break and enter and steal and not even think about it, but you'll still turn around when a girl is changing in front you," I mused.

"It's more for your comfort than for mine," Jasper stiffly replied. "Unless you want me to watch, in which case, I can be obliging."

I rolled my eyes, "Turn around, perv," I joked. Jasper turned around, and I slipped off my dress and pulled off my shoes. I put on the red tank top and the denim shorts. The tank top was a little big, and the shorts a little short, but, eh, beggars can't be choosers. Jasper had picked out a pair of black Converse shoes. I knew in some personal styles, Converse was always fashionable, but even on my down days, I was always more glam than Converse. But I had to grin and bear it, and died a little inside as I cast aside my Jimmy Choo for Converse. "Done, you can look now."

Jasper turned around. "Alright, you look nice. Let's go find the others." Wordlessly, he took my hand and we walked back towards the town.

"You can run if this walking is too humdrum for you," I offered. I imagined that if I could run as fast as Jasper could, walking at a regular pace would be horrible.

"No, this is fine," he gave me a small smile. Jasper seemed to have become loads friendlier and open than when I had first met him this morning. And he was holding my hand, which was odd. His hand was freezing.

"You seem less frightened," he remarked as we walked through the woods.

"I don't want to be scared," I replied simply, "And other than kidnap me, you haven't done me any harm. You had James let me go earlier today, you took me to get my wrist fixed, you got me a change of clothes. You haven't hurt me or let James at me. And I can tell he really wants at me, so don't try to make me feel better and say he doesn't. I still have my reservations about you, but I don't want to be scared, so I'm just not going to be."

"Is it really that simple to control fear?" Jasper said, perplexed. "I thought humans had a hard time controlling that."

There was that 'human' thing again, as if he wasn't one. "Okay," I sighed. "What are you? I know Sophie called you a vampire, but you don't have fangs. So what are you, really?"

"Well, you have to promise to not be scared."

"As long as you promise not to kill me," I replied, half joking, half serious..Well, mostly serious. But there was a teasing tone to my voice.

"I promise I won't kill you."

"Then I won't be scared."

"Sophie wasn't lying. I am a vampire, Alice. Some vampires have fangs, but my species doesn't."

I just stared at him. There was so much wrong with that sentence. "What?" I said. "You're kidding me."

"Why would I lie about this?"

"Maybe because you're bat-shit insane?"

"So if I had fangs, you'd believe me?"

"I'd be more willing to, yes. But even then, how did I know you weren't some nut job with a vampire fetish who'd filed down their own teeth?"

Jasper rolled his eyes. "Why are humans so against anything supernatural? Why do they always attempt to explain everything away?"

"Because if we went around believing vampires lurked around the corner, and witches owned our local aromatherapy shop, we'd go crazy with paranoia. It's simply easier not to believe."

"So, how can I convince you? Would you like for me to summarize your experience so far? You were kidnapped by four perfectly civilized people, who despite having murdered hundreds of people in our lifetime, have no real mental problems. Almost as if killing is what they were made to do. All of us can run faster than any human and most cars. I can read your emotions and control them, should I so choose. We didn't leave that house until after the sun had gone down because as vampires, we can't go out into the sunlight. Not that I need super-strength to pick you up, but I can run hundreds of miles with you in my arms and not tire. I'm pale as death, and my eyes are red. And biggest of all: I live off the blood of human beings," Jasper put it all in a nutshell. "Did I leave anything out?"

I was silent. I believed Jasper. I had believed him from the minute he'd told me. I didn't want to believe him. Why? Because all this supernatural stuff hit too close to home- To my visions. And the fact that I wasn't having them. Because I had no future. Because I was going to die. And with Jasper and all his friends being vampires, it was hard to deny that. Well, at least now I knew the 'how' part of my death.

"Fine, I believe you," I replied. "I just don't see why you kidnapped me. You don't want money. You haven't tried to kill me. Are you saving that for later?"

Jasper laughed, "I'm not going to kill you. I promised I wouldn't, remember?"

I smiled. "That's true."

We continued walking. Jasper wasn't holding my hand anymore, but my shoulder would graze his elbow every now and then. He was so tall. And I was so short. We hadn't talked in about ten minutes as we made the walk back to town. "James! Stefan!" Jasper yelled. "Hm. That's strange."

"What is?" I asked, looking up at him. Jasper didn't reply, but instead just shrugged.

Suddenly, Jasper froze. He grabbed my arm to prevent me from going any further. "Don't move."

**A/N: Somehow this chapter doesn't sit entirely well with me. Buuut, typically the chapters I dislike the most, the readers like the most, so maybe you all loved this, I dunno :P Anyways, please review :) I see that I have steady number of readers, but hardly anyone ever reviews, and it makes me sad cause getting feedback is nice and fun. To those who always review: You're awesome and I love you to bits! Also, I would like to have a beta to proof read for me since I typically write this stuff late and night and typos are bound to happen. So if you are a beta or know of a good one, let me know. Thanks :) Also! I start back to uni tomorrow, so updates might be a little slower than normal. Or they might be faster than normal, if I choose to use this story as a way to procrastinate from school work ;) Just a heads up! Thanks lovers! :D**


	16. Chapter 16

"Don't move," I grabbed Alice by the arm and pulled her closer to me.

I had heard something. I had yelled for my coven, but they hadn't responded, which was odd considering the fact that they would have to be truly far away not to hear that, and I doubted they went that far.

Suddenly, Laurent and James came bursting through the forest. They were afraid.

"Run!" Laurent called as he and James ran past us. "Hunters!"

Without hesitation, I pulled Alice up into my arms and ran with Laurent and James. "Where's Stefan?!" I yelled.

"They got him!" Laurent was running much faster than James and myself, he was the youngest. Stefan was the oldest and therefore the slowest, which is probably how the hunters had caught him.

"What's going on?!" Alice looked up at me. Confusion, not fear, filled her mind.

"Vampire hunters," I murmured. Her eyes widened.

I tried to think of a way to escape. Vampire hunters were capable of running just as fast as a vampire could. They could follow us all night, and unlike us, they weren't restricted by the sunlight, meaning if motivated enough, they could catch up with us. I looked at my surroundings to see if there was anything that might help. Just trees.

I quickly swung Alice around so that she was now on my shoulders. "Jasper, what are you doing?!" she asked in a hushed tone. "I'm going to fall off!"

"Not if you keep a good grip on my neck," I replied. I felt her wrap her arms tightly around my neck. I jumped up onto a tree, and climbed to it's uppermost branches, or at least the ones that could support my weight. I heard Alice make a few unsure, somewhat whimper-y noises as I climbed. I found a sturdy branch and took Alice off my shoulder. I put a finger to my lips, indicating to her to be quiet.

I looked down at the forest floor, waiting to see if any of the hunters would run by us. I saw that Laurent and James had taken after me and also climbed into trees. It wasn't the most genius of plans, in fact, the entire plan hinged on the hope that they wouldn't simply look up, but it was the only plan we had.

Soon enough, two hunters- one male, one female- jogged into our general area. The girl reminded me of Rosalie with her long blonde hair practically glowing in the moonlight. But this girl had a much more athletic frame than Rosalie. The man was like most male vampire hunters- Thick framed and built like a football player. He had dark hair. They were perhaps fifty feet from us, but considering their speed, that was as good as five feet.

All I could hear was the sound of Alice breathing and her racing heartbeat. I was sure the hunters could hear it, although I knew they couldn't. They were designed to chase dead things, things that didn't breathe or have a heartbeat. Their hearing abilities were strictly human. But Alice's breathing was practically roaring in my ears. I really wished she would stop. I wanted to at least glare at her, but I held back. I don't know why.

I looked at the hunters as they lingered beneath us. There were only two. And it was not impossible for vampires to kill vampire hunters, in fact vampires could kill hunters just as they killed regular humans. However, you had to make sure the hunter didn't have a weapon, which they almost always did, so it was rare that a vampire actually killed a hunter.

"Come on, Finn," the girl said. "I have school in the morning. It was just two lousy vampires anyways. Someone else will get them."

"This is why I doubt your commitment to this," Finn replied in an irritated tone. "You beg for me to take you vampire hunting, and you don't even want to finish it."

"We got one of them. Isn't that good enough?"

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that."

Finn..Finn. I knew that name. Then I remembered.

About eighteen years earlier, I was being chased by a vampire hunter. Actually, it was three vampire hunters. Two men and a young boy, whom I guessed to be about seven years old. I was hiding in a hollowed out log, when the child, who had separated from his guides, sat down right outside the opening of the log.

When he saw me, he was about to call to the others, but I hushed him. By looking at him, I could tell he was malnourished and obviously poor. And being a vampire, I had no use for money, however over the years I accumulated quite a bit of wealth- I kept all the money my victims had on them should I ever need it for some reason. I usually carried a few hundred dollars with me, just in case.

"Please don't call them," I had said in a voice as vulnerable as I could muster. "I'll help you get food." The boy's eyes lit up. "Just promise you won't hurt me." The weakness and fear in my own voice made me feel sick. Even faking it was so foreign to me that it was disgusting. But I had to survive. I had lived for over a hundred years. I would not be taken down by a seven year old boy.

"I promise," the boy had replied, hope was all over his face.

"Alright, here you go," I had handed him about two hundred dollars. He looked astonished at the amount of money. "But remember, you promised."

"I know. I won't tell them." He had held the money tightly in his small fists, as if he had been afraid I was going to snatch it back. He had stared at me curiously and in silence before I heard his guides' voices calling him.

"Finn! Finn, where are you?" a man's voice had called out.

"Thank you," the boy had said before scurrying off in one direction, and I in the other.

As I looked down on this man and girl from the tree, I couldn't be sure it was the same Finn. But how many vampire hunters named Finn can there be? I looked to Alice and indicated to her to keep quiet.

I silently jumped down to the forest floor, landing behind a bush and out of the sight of Finn and the girl.

I stood up, hoping that this was the same Finn, and if it was, that he was still as non-combative as he had been when he was seven. Otherwise this would be the end of me. "Finn?" I firmly called out.

Finn and the blonde girl quickly turned around to look at me, their weapons raised.

Finn instantly recognized me and put down his weapon. He lowered the girl's as well.

"Is it you?" I asked. "The boy by the log?"

"Oh my god," Finn seemed to be in disbelief, "It's you."

"What's going on here?" the girl looked between me and Finn. "Finn, how do you know a vampire?"

"This vampire is the reason we're even alive," Finn replied in a quick tone. "If it hadn't been for him we would've starved."

"So I'm assuming you are the Finn by the log," I smiled. "You've definitely grown. Definitely not the skinny little boy you were back then."

Finn gave a small smile, although he was still slightly uneasy. "You're exactly the same."

"One of the benefits of being a vampire."

"How can this be happening?" the blonde seemed quite shaken by my acquaintance with Finn. "You hate vampires more than anyone I know. You're telling me you met one long enough to be on a name-to-name basis but didn't kill him?!"

"And who is this?" I asked Finn as I turned to the girl.

"This is-," Finn began.

"I'm Evangeline. I'm his sister. Younger sister. Who the hell are you? Besides a vampire," she interrupted him.

"My name is Jasper. It's nice to meet you, Evangeline."

"Can't say the same."

I turned my attention back to Finn. "Am I safe in assuming you won't be hunting me and my coven any longer?"

"You are. I owe you my and my entire family's life. In fact, the money you gave me only lasted for a little while before we ran out. The state took us away from our parents and we ended up in a home with people who could afford to feed us. Our parents still live in total poverty. But you did give us the money that kept us all alive and well-fed and together for a few more months than we would have been otherwise. To kill you would be...Inhuman," Finn smiled.

"You took money from him?!" Evangeline shrieked. "We're hunters, Finn! We have a code to live by! I can't believe you took money from a vampire and then didn't have the decency to kill him!"

"He was only seven, or so," I spoke in Finn's defense.

"That's old enough to know better than to leave a vampire alive. Finn, do you know how many people have probably died because of your failure?!"

"No, I don't. But I know who lived because of it. And you're one of them."

"No wonder you never take me vampire hunting. You care about them. This is just disgusting. I'm...I'm disappointed and ashamed to be related to you. Thank God no one knows about this."

Evangeline apparently was quite the drama queen and a vampire hunter purist. How irritating. "Anyway, Finn, I was wondering if I could talk to you in private."

"Wait, where are the others?" Evangeline started to quickly look around her, just now remembering that originally they had been chasing two completely different vampires. "Is this a trap?"

"They're out here, somewhere," I replied. "But it's not a trap. They'd be stupid to go at you while you're armed. I just need to talk to Finn about some personal matters. Finn, do you mind?" I nodded off away from the group.

Finn looked at Evangeline. "Stay put, okay? I'll be back in a minute."

As he assured Evangeline that everything was fine, I concentrated on ensuring Alice didn't show herself. If a human was discovered with a coven of vampires, I knew that Evangeline, and maybe even Finn, couldn't overlook that. They would have to kill us.

Finn and I walked far away enough so that we couldn't be overheard. "So what do you need exactly?" he asked, slightly nervous at what my request might be.

"There's another vampire chasing me currently. I have about a day's head start on him, so he's not quite caught up with me yet, but he will be coming through here eventually. I was wondering if-."

"You want me to kill him?"

"No, no. His name is Edward. He's a friend. The chase is more of a game, I suppose. But regardless, I was wondering if when he passes through here, that you could capture him. Not kill him or anything, heavens no. But mess with him a little. Enough to make him angry," I said. I hoped that Finn would be able to move Edward to such anger that Edward might actually fight Finn, maybe even kill him. It would be the most vampiric behavior Edward had displayed in decades. "But eventually let him go."

"I'm not sure I understand why," Finn scratched his head.

"Edward and I have a sort of brotherly relationship, where I'm the older brother who likes to pick on the younger brother. This is just our way," I smiled.

"Well, alright, I can do that. Although I'll have a hard time keeping this from Evangeline."

"You can let her in on it, if you think you can keep her from killing him. And he's most likely traveling with another vampire- A female. Her name is Rosalie. Blonde hair, red eyes, you know, the usual. Keep her as well."

Finn inhaled, "Okay. How much are you willing to pay me to do this? I know I owe you for giving me that money back then, but I haven't killed you nor have I let Eva kill you, so I consider that payback. This is a whole new deal."

"How much would you want?"

"A hundred thousand?"

Practically pocket change. "Deal," I shook Finn's hand. We then headed back to where we had left Evangeline, who was now sitting on the ground. I briefly glanced up to see Alice still sitting up in the tree.

"Ready to get out of here, Eva?" Finn extended his hand down to his sister and pulled her up to a standing position.

"What? That's just it? We're going to let him live?" Evangeline looked horrified.

"Come on," he took her by the hand and started pulling her away from us.

"But- But, Finn! We're hunters! We can't just let them go!" she started to yell desperately as he basically carried her off.

"Weren't you the one that said they were just two lousy vampires and you had school tomorrow?"

"That was when we had to chase them! There's one right in front of us!"

"The kill is nothing and shameful without the chase. We're leaving," Finn stated so resolutely that Evangeline stopped protesting and allowed herself to be led away.

After a few minutes had passed, and I was sure that they were gone, I signaled for Laurent and James to come down out of their trees. I went up to get Alice. She immediately grasped onto me and held me tightly. Her warm skin was particularly hot to the touch.

"I was so scared they were going to kill you," she said quietly.

I hesitantly hugged her back, but only briefly, before gently pulling away. "You don't need to be scared for me. I've lived a long time. Vampire hunters can be dealt with." I gave her a small smile.

It then dawned on me that I was starting to feel guilty for tricking Alice. For making her think I was trying to get her home, for being so much nicer to her than I really preferred to be. She had taken the news of my vampirism quite well, and she had obviously put her trust in me to return her to her friends and family. And she had been worried that the hunters would kill me. She was a sweet girl.

But I couldn't think like that. If I let one human girl get to me, soon I'd be chasing bunny rabbits with Edward. Besides, she was nothing. She was just some stupid girl who didn't realize how afraid she should be of me. Obviously she had grown up on the romanticized vampires of modern literature. I wanted to tear into her flesh and drain every last drop of blood from her tiny little body. But I wouldn't do it- Yet.

I suddenly found myself angry with Alice. Angry at her for making me actually feel bad for her. Angry at her for making me feel guilty about what I was doing. This was arguably the longest amount of time I'd spent with a human since I was one. I wasn't use to the kind of faith she had in me, the certainty that I was worth her trust. James and Laurent trusted me in a way, but they didn't need me for anything. Alice needed me, and I liked that feeling. I liked that she made me feel that way. And I hated myself for feeling that way. And so I hated her for making me feel that way.

"Laurent, you carry Alice tonight," I instructed. Alice looked at me, alarmed. I gave her an apologetic look. I needed distance from her. If I was going to go through with this, I couldn't let a human interfere. I had only been with Alice for about twenty-four hours, but her humanity was definitely affecting me. I needed to be away from her, so I couldn't feel her human feelings or the heat of her flesh or the pulse of her blood beneath her flawless skin.

Alice made a sort of annoyed sound as Laurent roughly picked her up. I saw as she cast a questioning and angry look at me. I ignored her.

I focused on running towards our next destination: Mississippi.

And I wondered what Edward would do when faced with the vampire hunters I had waiting for him.

**A/N: So, I spent this Saturday night in doing homework *lame* because Sunday night I'm going to the Taylor Swift concert *not lame!* and therefore would not be able to do any school work then. However...I got sidetracked from my homework. And what sidetracked me? Well, you just read it ;) I had written this chapter the other night, the same basic events were present, but the tone was completely different and slightly strange. So I deleted it all, save the first two pages, and started practically anew. And I'm fairly satisfied with the end product this time :D So hope you all enjoyed it, and if so, leave a review. And if you didn't, leave a review telling me how badly it sucked xD**

**Which reminds me, I get a lot of angry questions concerning the Carlisle/Esme/Bella situation, so I wrote a little something about that in my profile. Check that out if that's something important to you.**

**Thanks loves :)**


	17. Chapter 17

I didn't know what I had done to make Jasper miffed with me. One minute he was smiling and hugging me, the next he was barely making eye contact and instructing Laurent to be the one to carry me. He couldn't have been too annoyed with me, though, because he didn't ask James to do it. If had had truly wanted to display his irritation, he would've had James carry me; he knew how frightened of James I was.

We ran silently for a few more hours before coming to a small house in the middle of no where. The sun was just coming up over the horizon as the vampires came to a stop and walked the rest of the length of the yard to the house. Laurent put me down, and I walked with them. The area had a moderate amount of trees, but definitely not enough to consider it the woods.

My stomach growled, but I knew it was in vain. With the sun almost up, the vampires wouldn't be leaving the house to get me food anytime soon. Unless there was food in the house, I wouldn't eat until nightfall. But the house seemed to be already abandoned, so I doubted there was anything edible in there.

The door was unlocked, and Jasper walked right in with the rest of us following. "James, go fire up the generator," he said. James went back outside and a few seconds later, the lights came on. The light revealed the living room and kitchen to be connected. The house seemed to be from the fifties, the kitchen appliances dreadfully out of date and the walls covered in wood paneling. Who on earth had decorated this travesty?

"Where are we?" I asked.

"Mississippi," James replied. He gave me that look that made me uncomfortable, and I quickly looked away from him.

"This used to be our hide-out, coven home, whatever you'd like to call it," Jasper said, making eye contact with me for the first time in hours. "It belonged to some human family up until the 70's. They moved out and no one ever moved in."

"Is that some sort of code?" I looked at him.

"No, they moved away, but left all their furniture. No killing involved."

"How refreshing," I sarcastically remarked. He rolled his eyes at me.

"I imagine you're tired. Here's a bedroom," he opened a door on the far end of the living room. The floor plan of this place was bizarre.

"You want me to sleep on a bed that's been collecting bugs and dirt since the 70's? And actually, I'm hungry."

"Well sleep, and you won't realize you're hungry."

"I'm not sleeping on a bed that no one's touched in thirty or forty years."

"Fine by me," Jasper shrugged.

I left his side and went to open the door adjacent to the bedroom Jasper had offered. It was full of books and papers and what looked to be ancient artifacts. It looked like a museum, had a tornado hit, yet not broken any of the valuables. "What is this?" I asked as I walked inside. Jasper followed me.

"There used to be a member of my coven who was obsessed with finding out how to reverse vampirism. He traveled the world looking for every piece of vampire knowledge out there. Then whatever he found, he'd bring back here and research and read over and over again until we all thought he'd lost his mind."

"What happened to him?" I looked up at Jasper.

"He left the coven. He doesn't really enjoy being around other vampires."

"How strange. I mean, how could he hate being a vampire?" I asked. I understood that technically they were dead, but in my book, if you moved around and ate things, you were in some sort of state of living.

"I couldn't understand it myself, personally. Being a human was fine, but being a vampire- It's just better."

"What were you like as a human?" I asked, quickly looking at him before looking back down at a heavy, thick book written in a language I didn't understand or recognize.

"I barely remember. Once you're a vampire, it's hard to imagine anything else. Plus, the pain of the transformation is so intense, and sticks out in your memory so much, that it seems like everything before that was just...Child's play."

"So it hurts to become a vampire?" I asked, noting that Jasper seemed to getting back to being nice.

He paused for a moment, "It's horrible. It felt like literal fire was running through my body...I wanted to die. But the pain only lasts a few days, and then you go into a sort of coma type state, and when you come out of it, you're a vampire. And you're faster and stronger and practically invincible. I'd do it over again if I had to."

I nodded as I took in what he said. "Does death by vampire hurt as badly?" I asked, curious about the pain involved in what was at this point the most likely scenario for my death.

"I don't know. I would doubt it would be too bad. The vampire breaks the skin and then just drinks the blood. Almost like how doctors take blood, only there's probably more of a suction action going on with vampires. It only hurts if the venom gets into your bloodstream, and most vampires are done before the pain has time to register."

My stomach felt weak. I shivered. "You said you barely remembered your human life, which means you do remember it, if only but slightly. So tell me about it."

Jasper looked uncomfortable. "Maybe another time, Alice."

"I'll tell you about my life as a human," I offered. He laughed. "Hey, it's been interesting!"

"I don't doubt it. But I'm just not really, um...I don't like talking about life as a human. Or thinking about it."

I didn't reply or press the issue. I looked around the room. Books and papers stacked to the ceiling and spread all over the floor. "Was your friend close to finding out how to reverse it?"

"I don't know. Even if he had been, it would've been of no interest to me."

My stomach growled again. Jasper gave me an apologetic look. "Sorry, I meant to get you something to eat before now." I shrugged. "And I'm sorry about the bed situation."

"I'll live." We went back out into the living room where James and Laurent sat perfectly still and silent. It was a creepy sight. "Are they sleeping?" That's what it looked like they were doing, only with their eyes open and in an upright position.

Jasper laughed, "No. We're naturally that still. It's a human thing to fidget and move around."

Maybe I would at least go sit in that bedroom now. Being in a room with them acting like that was just too eery for me. And I was tired. I didn't have the mental energy that I would need to just be in the same room. "I think I will go lie down," I announced. "Sleep will keep my mind off of how hungry I am." With that, I turned on my heel and left the room.

The bedroom was fairly bare. A bed dressed in white sheets, an empty dresser- That was all there was. I sat on the foot of the bed and took off my shoes. I drew my knees up to my chest and rested my chin on them. I missed my friends and my family. I really wanted to go home. I wanted to eat. To sleep. And suddenly, without warning, I started to cry. Not heavy sobbing or anything- I was never prone to theatrical crying fits- but a light crying.

I wondered if people had noticed I was missing yet. And if so, where were they looking for me? How long would they search before they just gave up? I'd only been gone a short while. Maybe they thought I was just out partying or something. How long would it be before they realized something was wrong? School started Wednesday. It was almost Sunday, I think. They'd have to realize it by then.

The fact that I'd never see my family again made it worse. No, my death was not a definite thing. But I'd had visions every single day of my life for twenty years, then suddenly I'm kidnapped by a group of fucking _vampires_, and the visions stop. Coincidence? Doubtful. Well, at least my last night had been spent with my friends and siblings...Even if Emmett and Tanya did wander off to have sex only a few hours into the night, and Heidi had spent the evening sulking in the corner with Edward.

I thought about Edward and Bella. I loved them both so much. And I missed them. Right now I wanted more than anything to be having movie night with them. I'd be sitting in the giant recliner, they'd be sitting on the sofa, trying to pretend that there wasn't any sexual tension between them. A few weeks ago I had just wanted to get up and yell at them to just fuck already, but now I missed their awkward cuteness. And even then, I knew whatever connection between them was more than just physical, that even if they did just 'fuck already,' that wouldn't solve the tension. Now I wanted to tell them that the entire world knew they liked each other, and they needed to do something about it. But I probably wouldn't ever get to tell them.

I wiped the few stray tears falling down my cheeks and sniffled. The door opened. It was Jasper. I quickly made an attempt to make it less obvious that I was crying. Then I remembered he could sense emotions. He already knew I was upset. Not fair. "Hey," I smiled.

"Are you okay?" he shut the door behind him.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"You know it's pointless to lie to me about something like this," he sat down next to me, a small smile playing across his lips. I rolled my eyes and gave a slight laugh.

"I know."

"So, what's really wrong? I'll get you home, Alice. I promised you."

I inhaled, not sure if I should say what I was about to. "I know you promised. But- But I'm fairly certain I'm going to die."

"Well, you're a human. That's what they do." He made it sound as if that was the only thing humans ever did. He put a hand on my shoulder.

"No, I mean..." I paused. I weighed in my mind if I should tell him or not. Why not? I was most likely going to die anyways. "Like, ever since I was little, I've always had visions of the future. But lately I've had them less and less frequently, and now that I've been kidnapped by you all, I haven't had a single vision the entire time. Not even when I try to have one. I can usually force a vision if I need to. But now it's just...Blackness. I'm going to die." I couldn't believe I had said that aloud. And to another human being. The only other person I'd ever told had been my dad.

Jasper furrowed his brow, "You can see the future?"

"Oh come on, you can manipulate emotions. Don't act like super powers or whatever it is surprises you."

"Vampires with powers don't surprise me. But a human that can see the future is a little different."

"Well," I sighed, "Doesn't matter now. My visions are gone. I don't have a future. I'm going to die. And so, the crying was just slightly coming to terms with that."

Jasper seemed at a loss for words for a moment. He look distressed. "Can't you do something to get them back?"

"I was born having them. I don't know how I had them, and I don't know how to get them back."

We sat in the quiet. "It's going to be James," I said. "I just know it. He's going to kill me. The way he looks at me, I know he wants to."

"James won't hurt you. I'm not going to deny that he would enjoy it, but he wouldn't defy me. And even if he tried, I can control his desires, and therefore his actions. He's not going to kill you, Alice."

I didn't reply, because what I was thinking was rude. Jasper had been for the most part quite gracious and kind. I trusted him as much as I could, but I knew there was a chance he or Laurent would be my demise. But then again, between witches and vampire hunters and vampires, there were a lot of ways I could go. Hell, I could accidentally fall of a cliff.

"I sent Laurent to get you some food," Jasper announced after a few minutes of silence had passed between us. "There is an inhabited house a few miles away. He's gone to steal some food for you."

"What about the sunlight?" I asked. "Won't it...Burn?"

"Burn, no. Sunlight alters our appearance and weakens us. But it doesn't necessarily hurt us. Plus, we're out in the country, I doubt anyone will see him, and if all else fails, he can just kill-," Jasper cut himself off mid-sentence. "Sorry. I know the killing thing bothers you."

"Call me old-fashioned," I smiled.

Jasper and I sat in the room and talked until Laurent arrived a half hour later. He brought a tupperware container of fruit, some bread, a container of smoked ham lunch meat, a 2-liter of Diet Coke, and a piece of cake. "How did you manage to carry all that?" I asked Laurent as I sat down at the table in the kitchen. Jasper had set about putting the food on plates for me. I didn't mind talking to Laurent.

"I'm a vampire. I think I can manage carrying someone's dinner," Laurent seemed offended by the question, but not angry.

I ate the ham sandwich, along with the fruit, while Jasper sat across from me at the table. "Do you want some?" I asked.

"I can't eat that stuff."

"What did you like to eat when you were a human?" I asked as I took a bite of cake. Jasper looked over at Laurent and James, apparently he didn't want to talk like this in front of them. "Nevermind," I quickly said. "It's not important."

"Well, I was a southerner, so I loved typical southern foods. Peaches, pecan pie, okra, grits. That sort of thing," he replied. So he was a southerner. I guess he did have a slight hint of a southern accent, now that I looked for it. But otherwise it was fairly unnoticeable. "What kind of food do you like?"

"Chocolate. I don't think I could ever give it up."

"Chocolate was good," Jasper nodded in agreement.

I looked out the window, the sun was brightly shining through. "Well, I think I might actually go to sleep. It'll be sundown before you know it, so I might as well get some sleep for our run tonight." I stood up and went to the room, and Jasper followed. "What are you doing?"

"I just thought I'd escort you, make sure you're set and don't need anything before you go to sleep."

"Actually, can you come in here for a minute?" I asked, glancing quickly at Laurent and James, who ignored me. Jasper came in and closed the door.

"What?" he asked.

"You're not going to have a mood swing again are you? I'm not going to wake up, and you'll be ignoring me again? What was wrong?"

"Alice, I'm going to be honest with you. It's hard to be around you. All your human feelings and emotions, they're really, really strong. Vampires have emotions of course, but they're hollow shells compared to humans'. Being around you is like tearing the scab off of a not-quite-healed wound."

"Gee, thanks," I distanced myself from him. I broke our gaze and turned towards the bed. "Is there running water here? I could use a bathroom." I changed the topic.

"I didn't mean it in a bad way. I just mean it as-."

"How on earth can you call someone a scab an mean it in a good way? Again, bathroom?"

"We do actually have running water. Because vampires do require shower- Hunting can get quite messy."

"Excellent," I replied, genuinely enthusiastic. The idea of a shower was practically magical by now.

Jasper showed me the bathroom, and I took a shower. I scrubbed off my make up from the club and the dirt from the forest. I let the heat seep into my skin. It was refreshing, but sleep was still attacking me, and I cut the shower short. I could have stood in there for hours. I got out and searched through the cabinets for anything that I might find useful. There was a comb, and a hair tie. Perfect. I towel dried my hair before combing it and putting it into a bun. It would be wavy when I woke up.

When I got back to my room, I wore an old shirt Laurent had found. It had been his when they coven had lived here consistently. Once in the room, I discovered Jasper still sitting on the bed. I raised an eyebrow. "What?" I asked, still slightly offended that he had called me a scab- of all things.

"I wanted to apologize for how I worded myself earlier."

I scoffed at him and got in bed while he still sat at the foot of it.

"I'm serious, Alice. What I meant to say was, that yes, it is hard to be around you. But I still like it. Because, truth be told, there are some parts of the human experience that I do miss- A lot. You just remind me of things I lost, but yet when I feel your emotions, it's like I'm getting to be human again. But then I remember- I'm a vampire. It's very bittersweet."

"I don't really understand," I said. I slightly did understand what he was saying, but I wanted to hear him spell it out.

"I'm a vampire. I'm not supposed to be jealous of you- A silly little human. You make me frustrated with myself, not you."

And that was when I felt the wall Jasper had up around himself start to crumble, just a bit.

**A/N: Um, so apparently I'm definitely using writing this as a procrastination from homework tool, cause I'm updating more now that school has started than I did during the summer! Haha. And to answer a question a reader had about Rosalie and Emmett getting together: I've been thinking about it as a possibility. You'll just have to read and see ;) :) And emzigale, the bunny rabbit line was meant to be humorous, so I'm glad it made you laugh! Well that's all for now folks! Review! :)**


	18. Chapter 18

I laid next to Alice, watching the shadows on the wall grow shorter, then longer and longer until they overtook the entire room. No longer did light stream through the curtains of Alice's makeshift bedroom; the sun had set. I looked at Alice, still sleeping. While her face always remained serene while she slept, her emotions told quite a different story, and I could tell her sleep was often riddled with nightmares.

This upset me for two, seemingly at odds with one another, reasons. One, we had taken Alice nearly a month ago. I had been the perfect picture of a gentlemen. How the hell could she not be feeling more at ease with me by now? At this rate, she would never have feelings for me. My entire plan hinged on counting on the fact that I could make her fall in love with me; make her want to become a vampire, and ruin what I knew Edward held dearest. Secondly, I was upset because sometimes the lines between fake-caring for Alice and real-caring for her did blur, and it was a at point where sometimes I did want her to have some sort of romantic attraction for me, or at least feel safe with me by her side. Which had to make me even sicker than I previously thought.

I hadn't ever mentioned the topic of Edward to Alice. My reasoning for this was that perhaps if no one ever brought him up, she'd be able to forget about him and move on sooner. But obviously that approach was not working. Apparently Edward had some sort of hold on her. I had to break her of it. Although, it was strange how she never mentioned him. Then again, she never mentioned family or friends. When I had prodded for information about them, she was tight lipped and said she didn't prefer to talk about them. I could feel the fear she felt. She didn't trust the vampire to know about her family.

I wondered where Edward was. Finn had never sent word that he had caught him. And it had been a month since I'd instructed him to take Edward and Rosalie. If Edward had killed him and Evangeline, he would have been here by now. Maybe Finn had gone back on his word and killed Edward. Or maybe Evangeline did it. I wished I knew how to find Finn without the risk of walking into a crowd of hunters. The not knowing was excruciating.

"Morning, Jasper," Alice said as she rolled from her side to lying on her back. This was practically routine by now. I never left her side. Well, except to hunt. Then Laurent stayed with her. But otherwise, Alice and I were basically joined at the hip.

"Morning," I replied. I had been sitting up against the headboard. All night. Thinking. About everything. I looked down at her and smiled half-heartedly. She smiled back, but held nothing back. It was a real smile. A happy one. It aroused anger within me, I didn't know why.

"Don't you ever read a book or something? Just sitting there all night as to be dull," Alice sat up against the headboard with me. She sat close to me, one of her legs draped over my own.

"Sometimes I read. Not lately, though."

"So what's the plan for tonight? Hunting, stealing, just hanging out?" she asked. During her time with us, Alice had turned out to be quite the kleptomaniac. I found it endearing. But she loved going out on excursions to steal things. Of course, she rarely did any of the stealing, seeing as she was not as fast as the rest of us. But every now and then she'd manage to steal a tube of mascara or lipstick or hair product. In the past month, she had built up quite the impressive collection belongings. The makeshift bedroom wasn't very makeshift anymore, as she had managed to steal a sheet set and some pillows. She had made it look quite like a regular bedroom.

"We can go get you some food, then decide afterwards," I said, getting out of the bed. I actually felt cold without Alice's body close to mine.

Alice pounced out of bed as well. It had become clear to me over the past few weeks that she thought because I was a vampire, that I was somehow above sexual attraction. She would walk about in her underwear as if it were nothing. Not that I didn't enjoy the sight, it was just incredibly teasing and infuriating. Then I realized- Maybe that was why she didn't see me in a romantic light. She didn't see me capable of love or sex. Maybe she just saw me as an asexual, aromantic creature who went around killing people. I could change that. And I knew how.

Alice and I went to a nearby 24/7 diner, but got her food to go. Instead of returning back to the house, I took her down to the beach. It was only a short run away. We sat on the pier, our legs dangling over the water.

She had always wanted to know about my human life. I always refused. Because I knew that would make my job a lot harder. It would be difficult to balance telling her things of absolute confidentiality, things I'd never told a soul, putting my trust in her, and yet staying emotionally uninvolved with her. I just had to remind myself that it was just going through the motions. It was the means to an end. Nothing else.

"I was a human during the Civil War," I said out of the blue. Alice looked at me. She was surprised that I was offering up this information. But I could see a slight smile on her face. Victory.

"Go on," she said, taking a drink of her water.

"Well. I guess I'll start at the beginning. I was born in 1843, in Texas. When the war started, due to my geographical location, I fought for the South. I worked my way up to the rank of major. I was twenty years old when I was changed. I was riding my horse down a road near our camp one night. There was a house on the road. As long as I'd been at that camp, I'd never seen anyone in that house, and I'd just always assumed it was abandoned. But that night, a woman came out on the front porch and waved me over. She was a small woman- Like you. She said she needed help lifting something in her kitchen, and she would appreciate it if I could lend her a hand. So I got off my horse, went inside the house, and I felt her grab onto me, and that's the last thing I remember before the pain of the transformation and waking up a vampire. So there you have it."

"I wasn't really curious about how you came to be a vampire, but thanks for telling me," Alice laughed. "I want to know what human Jasper was like. Did you have siblings? Girlfriend? What were your parents like? Where you a good kid?"

"Well, I had an older brother and a younger sister. Beau and Georgia," I replied. "And I was engaged." There, I said it. I was telling Alice things I'd never told a soul since I became a vampire. It was almost painful to say my siblings' names aloud and mention my almost-marriage.

Alice's eyes widened, "You mean, you were going to get married?"

"That's typically the meaning of the word in that context, yes. Believe it or not."

"What was her name?"

"Chloe Wallace," I replied, giving Alice a weak smile.

"Did you ever see her again?"

"I went to her funeral in 1927. She was eighty-one. But alive, no. I never saw her again." In my chest a I felt a feeling that I didn't recognize. It was a tightness, a need for air, but I knew I didn't need air. I was dead.

"Jasper, I'm so sorry. Do you still miss her?" Alice seemed truly upset. In fact, I could feel the despair coming from her. She was quite empathetic. She even placed a hand on my back and rubbed it slightly. I could feel my plan working. Open up to her a bit, get her to see me in a more human light, she'd open up to me some, and before you knew it, she would have authentic feelings for me. Perhaps love was aiming too high, but romantic feelings in general, that was feasible.

"I did for awhile. When I was first turned, I really wanted to go back to her. But I was a newborn vampire, there wouldn't have been anyway I could've retrained myself and kept from killing her. And even though I was a vampire, I still loved her. I didn't want to hurt her, but at the same time, I couldn't think of anything I'd rather do. So I just stayed away. By the time I felt confident enough in my self-control, that I wouldn't kill her, she had moved on, married someone else. It was a tough blow at first, but I would say that by 1867 my romantic feelings for her were gone."

"It took you four years to fall out of love with her?"

"I..I guess it did," I replied. "I guess I always cared about her, even when I stopped loving her in a romantic way."

"Do you wish you hadn't been changed?" Alice asked, a tone in her voice I couldn't decipher. I tried to read her emotions, but they were just sad. I looked at her bright green eyes.

I shrugged, "Back then I was slightly torn on the issue. But only for Chloe. If she hadn't existed, becoming a vampire would've been the best thing that ever happened to me. Because I loved Chloe, but I loved the power that came with being a vampire. But now, I feel as if I was born to be a vampire. It just feels right."

"Do you ever keep up with your siblings' descendants? Like, do you know of them?"

"I know Georgia had two sons, she named them after both Beau and myself, but I never attempted to keep up with them."

"And Beau?"

"Well, he died in the war as well. But, uh, you remember Sophie, right? Well, that was his wife. She'd been our neighbor growing up, so we'd always been friends. She and Beau had always been in love since they were little. They got married when Beau was twenty and she was eighteen. Then he went off to the war when he was about twenty five and died. They'd put off having kids so, yeah, there aren't any descendants from Beau and Soph," I explained. Saying all of this felt strange. I heard the words coming from my mouth, felt them being formed in my throat...But it was totally involuntary. I felt disconnected from what I was saying, yet so connected that I almost felt sick.

"Was she always a witch?"

"No. She took up witchcraft probably about a decade after Beau died. We ran into each other by complete mistake around 1880. We keep in vague touch, as you saw. Vampire-witch fraternization is frowned upon by the higher-ups in the wizarding world."

"How can she live for so long?"

"Spells. She will die someday, though. Witches are still humans, they just have tricks to put off death. But I give it a few centuries before she dies."

Alice was quiet. She reached down and held my hand. She smiled. I suddenly felt a warm feeling rush over me. It was understanding and compassion. Two emotions that I don't think I'd ever experienced in my time as a vampire. It felt remarkable.

"I wanna say something to you, Jasper," she said. I was tempted to read her emotions, but I wanted to be surprised by whatever she had to say. "I just want to say thanks. I mean, you've still never explained to me why exactly you all kidnapped me, so I doubt I'll ever get an explanation for it. But I do know that you've been very gracious to me, especially considering that I'm to you what a candy bar is to me. You've made me feel very safe, despite the fact that this situation is ridiculous and horrifyingly dangerous. You've been really...Sweet."

I squeezed her hand and smiled. I rejoiced in the fact that human girls were so easily swayed, so easily manipulated. I could have told her any old sob story, didn't matter if it had been true or not, and she would've been putty in my hands. Why hadn't I thought of this sooner?

"Thanks," I said. I then inhaled as I prepared to lay it on thick. But it seemed to go with the tone of our conversation, plus she still wanted to know why we had kidnapped her, so I figured this reason was as good as any, despite being a lie. "And I guess I can tell you why we took you. I mean, I guess we all had our own reasons. My personal reason was I wanted someone to be around that wasn't all doom and gloom. Vampires are quite...Negative. Being around them for extended periods of time is quite depressing. With you, there's this lightness and happiness about you. So, yes, being around you when you're sad is painful for me. But being around you at all other times, it's amazing. I know I'm the one that's supposed to control emotions around here, but when you're around me, you control mine."

So maybe that wasn't a complete lie. My reasons for kidnapping Alice had nothing to do with wanting human company. But I wasn't lying about how she made me feel. Again, I felt myself slipping on the edge. I was using the truth to paint a lie- The truth about the obvious joy that radiated from her tiny body that made me feel the same, to paint the lie that was the extent of my feelings for her.

"That might be the sweetest thing anyone's ever said to me," Alice was practically bursting with positive energy right now. I had to fight it.

"Yeah, well," I pulled my hand away from hers and laughed, "You said I was a sweet guy."

Then, without warning of any kind, Alice leaned over and gave me a soft kiss on the cheek.

I froze. I hadn't anticipated anything like this. If I had blood, I'm sure it would've crept to my cheeks. If I had a heartbeat, it might've skipped, not in a good way. In a 'what the hell do I do now?' panic sort of way. Okay, maybe in a good way. A little bit. "What was that for?" I asked, keeping my cool exterior.

"I don't know. I just felt like it," Alice shrugged with a playful smile playing across her lips. Lips that I suddenly had a growing desire to feel pressed against my own.

I quickly looked away from her and cleared my throat. "You ready to go?" I abruptly said. I could feel Alice's happiness slightly diminish, but she was still beaming. I stood up and held out my hand to help her stand.

"Yeah, yeah," she replied, grabbing my hand. I pulled her up, and she went to throw away the trash from her meal. Lying on the ground next to the trash bin was old newspaper. "You take this," she folded it up and stuck it in my pocket, "So you have something to read while I'm asleep. Honestly, what did you do before I came along?" Her tone was teasing. She had a good point.

And suddenly, I could not recall anything from the past century that mattered more than the human girl standing in front of me.

**A/N: Hm, don't have much to say this time around, haha. Except...YAY another chapter. This would've been up on Thursday had been cooperative. :( In fact, it's still not being cooperative..I just cheated! Shh! :P Oh well. Also, everyone should read The Hunger Games and Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. They are AMAZING books. The characters are so real, that when something bad happens to them that I like literally feel like I've been kicked in the gut, and when something good happens to them, it's like I'm walking on the clouds. They're seriously great books and everyone should read them!**


	19. Chapter 19

So this is what my life had come to. I'd gone from buying $400 pairs of jeans from Neiman Marcus to shoplifting underwear from Wal-Mart. But truth be told, I got a rush from stealing that just couldn't be matched by doing things the legal way. Plus, even if I got caught, I was with a gang of vampires, what could the Wal-Mart manager do? Nothing, that's what.

I stood in the Wal-Mart dressing room. I'd brought in eight pairs of underwear, but had claimed to the lady that was in charge of the dressing room that I only had six. It was three in the morning, and she didn't care enough to inspect how many I actually had. Plus, I had the face of an angel, not a thief. I unbuttoned my shorts, slid them down my legs, and stepped out of them. I pulled on two pairs of the underwear over the pair I was already wearing. I ripped off the tags and put on my shorts.

"These don't fit the way I thought they would," I smiled to the lady at the counter as I set the unwanted pairs in front of her. "But thanks for helping me!"

She barely looked up at me and mumbled something. I shrugged and started to casually walk out of the store. I was soon joined by Jasper, who was wearing a slight smile on his face. The closer I got to the doors, the faster my heart beat. I was going to get caught, I knew it. Any minute now. I walked through the sensors at the door. I held my breath. There hadn't been any security tags on the underwear, but there was always that irrational fear in the back of my mind that somehow I'd set off the alarms somehow. But the alarms didn't go off and relief swept over me. The further I got from the door, the better I felt. I felt more and more invincible with each step.

We were half-way across the parking lot when I looked up at Jasper and smiled. "I wish we could go out during the day. I'd love to try my hand at this at somewhere more upscale. More of a challenge." Jasper laughed.

"Maybe on a rainy day we can head over to Atlanta. I think that's the closest place that would have anything more upscale."

"Sounds like a plan," I replied, although I knew it probably wouldn't happen. Jasper and the rest of the coven didn't like crowded places with me in tow. I had been kidnapped, after all, and it would just complicate things if someone recognized me.

After our little shoplifting expedition, we went to what was becoming mine and Jasper's spot- The all-night diner about ten miles from the house. I sat facing a muted TV up on the wall. We were sitting in the corner booth, when our waitress came over. I don't think I'd ever seen Jasper stare at anyone as hard as he had at her. "Geeze, take a picture," I rolled my eyes once she had left after taking our order.

He seemed to think for a minute before speaking. "I wasn't thinking what you think I was."

"Well, what were you then?" I sarcastically asked.

"About how after we finish up here, I'd like to bring her back to the house. For a snack," he said it hesitantly. I was surprised, but only marginally so. I tried to hide it.

"Well, you are what you are. I don't want you to starve to death," I replied in a neutral tone. On the one hand, I was slightly creeped out. He was talking about killing her, for Christ's sake. But on the other hand, he was a vampire. It's what he did. It's how he lived. I couldn't fault him for that. And it wasn't like I didn't know what he was doing when he left me in Laurent's care for hours, sometimes even days, at a time. I'd never objected then, why would I do it now?

"You take this whole thing very well."

"Yeah, well...You're talking to someone who had visions her whole life. Believing in vampires isn't a huge jump, I don't think." I rested my elbows on the table and looked at Jasper. He was wearing blue contacts. "So does she not give you the warm fuzzies like I do?" I asked, a playful smile on my face. When Jasper had told me that I controlled his emotions with my warmth and all that, it would've been a lie to say that my heart didn't flutter. It really had been the sweetest thing anyone had ever said to me.

"Not even remotely," he smiled to me.

Then, unintentionally, I quickly glanced up at the TV. I was shocked to see a picture of Bella and Edward from a party we had gone to in June. My jaw dropped. Without even thinking, I slipped. "Oh my God, it's Bella and Edward!" I quickly covered my mouth. I might have trusted Jasper, but I didn't want my friends mixed up in this.

Jasper turned around and looked at the TV. Now they were showing a picture of me. I wished the TV wasn't muted. I wanted to know what they were saying. Apparently, Jasper did as well and stood up and turned up the volume.

"...Alice Brandon, daughter of Chicago billionaire Blake Brandon, still missing after five weeks. Roommates, Bella Swan and Edward Masen, have been missing for the past five weeks as well. Surveillance footage taken at their apartment complex show Brandon and her sister entering the building, with the Heidi Brandon exiting shortly thereafter. Swan and Masen entered the building about an hour after Heidi's exit. There is no surveillance footage of the three, Brandon, Swan, or Masen, exiting the building. Tonight, Alice Brandon's brother, Emmett Brandon, once again pleas to anyone with any information concerning his sister's whereabouts to please come forward," says a female news anchor. They played a tape of Emmett and Heidi standing outside my parents' home, pleading for my safe return.

I looked down at the table. I couldn't stand to look at it. Jasper had been to good to me that most of the time, I forgot I was actually a missing person. I forgot that people were looking for me, wanting me back, praying for my return. But the anchorwoman continued speaking.

"Charlie Swan, a police chief in Washington state, and father of Bella Swan, also continues to plead with the public." They played a tape of Bella's dad fighting back tears as he talks about how he just wants his daughter home.

Wait. This bit sunk in. Bella was missing, too? What was going on? I looked back up at the TV. A police officer was talking.

"At this point in time, we would like to talk to Mr. Masen about his relationship with the girls. So, yes, he is a person of interest," he said of Edward.

My head was spinning. The world that I had so conveniently shut out and and forgot about had just slapped me in the face. Bella was missing. Edward was missing. I was missing. They thought Edward is behind it. I couldn't breathe.

I looked at Jasper. He wasn't watching the TV. He was looking at me.

"I have to leave," I breathed, and quickly ran up from the table and outside. The humid air didn't help when I was gasping for breath.

But no sooner did the door of the diner close behind me than did I feel Jasper's cold hand grab mine. "What's wrong?" he asked.

I couldn't find the words. "Did you take them?" I demanded. "Bella and Edward. Where are they?"

"No. I didn't even know who Bella was until just now," Jasper replied. "I promise you, Alice. I did not take them. Nor did James or Laurent. You heard the newscaster, they've been missing just as long as you have. And we've been with you all this time."

"I sleep. You could've done it then."

"No we couldn't have. It's daylight when you're sleeping." That was true.

"So you promise you have nothing to do with Edward and Bella disappearing?" I look at him sternly. "Because it's hard to believe that we'd just go missing at the same time by accident."

"I swear."

Silence passed between us as I let that sink in. I believed him. "We have to find them!"

Jasper looked shocked that I suggested such a thing. "I can't track, Alice. James is the only tracker we have. Good luck getting him to find your roommate and your little boyfriend. Even if you did, he has to have met a person before he can track them."

"Edward is _not_ my boyfriend!" I scowled. "He's just my roommate. He's head over heels for Bella."

Jasper looked even more shocked now. His eyes were wide, his jaw clenched. He was silent for a few seconds. "What?"

"I don't know how I can state it any more plainly," I said in an annoyed tone. "Edward is into Bella, not me. He and I are just friends."

"Oh," Jasper relaxed. He was quiet. "Let's get home. It's almost sunup."

"And I'm supposed to just forget about my friends?"

"Your other option is getting James involved in their life. If you want that then, fine. But they'll be worse off for it. Sometimes you just have to realize that there's nothing you can do."

I didn't understand what Jasper was saying. It didn't sound like something he'd say. He was always confident and sure and had the answer for everything. He had even promised to try to get me home, although as time had passed, I had realized that this probably wouldn't happen. No matter what I suggested we try to do to get away from Laurent and James, he had an answer as to why we couldn't. And I hadn't minded the idea of spending my days sleeping with Jasper and my nights shoplifting from discount stores. But that was when I was able to pretend that I was just on holiday. The news report made that hard to do. It was hard to pretend that everything was fine, that I was just hanging out with some friends, when my face was on national news.

I didn't argue with him, and crawled up in his arms for him to carry me back home. I felt guilty for thinking of the house as home now. I felt guilty for looking forward to the run home because it meant being holding onto Jasper for dear life. I felt guilty that after the first two weeks of being gone, I had slowly stopped thinking about my family. I didn't know why. Maybe because it was easier not to think about them. Maybe because I'd found myself slowly forming a bond with Jasper, despite the fact that I knew it was stupid. I remember when I was in freshman psychology class and read about Stockholm Syndrome. I had thought what idiots those girls were. But here I was, hopelessly attached to Jasper, even though deep down, I knew he was a captor.

Jasper was more than that to me, though. Yes, he was rough around the edges. He was cold, distant, blunt, and sometimes could be short-tempered. But I knew deep down, Jasper was good. Somewhere in that killing machine was a man who yearned for connections just like anyone else. He had loved someone once. He could do it again.

When we got home, Jasper let me down. He still hadn't said a word the whole run. He didn't even look at me. He went into the room with the old papers and artifacts and shut the door behind him. A few seconds later, I heard things breaking and tables being turned overturned. The floor shook beneath me. Was Jasper throwing some kind of temper tantrum? And if so, over what?

Soon enough he emerged from the room and looked at me fiercely. "I'm going hunting," he stated.

"But the sun'll be up soon," I objected.

"I can handle it," he sharply muttered. Then he left.

"My, my, just what have you done?" James peeked from over the newspaper he was reading. His voice was joking, but there was a vicious edge to it. "Seems your little Jasper is quite upset."

I didn't reply to him and instead went to my room and sat on the bed. I couldn't stand being alone with James.

But apparently, he enjoyed being alone with me, because a few seconds after I had sat down, he came in the room. He had that infernal smile on his face. I hated him. I was scared of him in a way that I never had been with Jasper, even when Jasper had been a stranger to me. Then again, James had been the one to break my wrist. I had reason to dislike him. "So, what's got lover boy's panties in a twist?" he stood inches from me. His typically red eyes were darker today. Almost black.

I looked up at him, but refused to answer.

"Alice, we've been together for awhile now. I think we're at the point where we can carry on a conversation. Now, obviously, you've done something to upset dear Jasper. He left you here with me without Laurent. He's never done that, so I'm assuming that he's feeling a bit upset with you. So why don't you tell me what you did?" his fingers traced the outline of my jaw. I slapped away his hands, and he just laughed. "Come on. Talk to your good friend James."

"I have nothing to say to you," I replied as I stood up and attempted to leave the room, but he blocked my path.

"Fine. We don't have to talk. I can think of better ways to spend this rare bit of alone time together." James was towering above me. Even if he had been my height, I realized this wasn't a situation I could escape. He pushed me towards the wall. He held one hand to my throat, the other he used to support himself as he propped himself up against the wall. I assumed the hand on the throat was for theatrics, as he had me pinned with his hips pressed against me.

"Let me go," I said in a firm and steady voice, careful not to let my fear or emotion show.

"Why should I? Because Jasper will get mad? Sweetheart, Jasper doesn't scare me. A month or so ago, yes, I might've worried about infuriating him. But he's gone soft," James laughed as he brushed his fingertips over my neck. He stopped at my pulse points. "This is going to stop soon, you know. Your human days are almost behind you. You should be excited."

At this, my pulse quickened and tears sprang to my eyes. James hands wandered down my arms, then to my stomach, and up to my breasts. His face burrowed against my neck, and I felt his teeth grazing my skin. "Stop it! Jasper will kill you!" I said. James' breath was cool against the skin on my neck as he chuckled. My fists were clenched so tightly, my nails dug into my palms. I beat against him furious as I tried to get him off of me, but he was a brick wall.

My mind was racing. Where was Jasper? Where was Laurent? How could Jasper leave me here with James? Was he angry with me? For what? I hadn't done anything. I'd been anticipating my death this entire journey, maybe it was finally upon me. Maybe this was how it was going to happen. I'd come all this way just to die in a shack in the middle of nowhere. Death seemed like such a pathetic ending to this story.

James was certainly taking his time, no doubt taking pleasure in my panic and torture. "Well if you're going to kill me, just do it!" I yelled. I wanted this over with. I wondered if my body would ever be found. Probably not. My family would never find me. They'd never see me again.

"I'm getting to it, don't worry," James smiled. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I had to at least be brave in my final moments. Be brave- So I opened my eyes and looked James square in the eye. I was not going to be afraid of death. I was going to look it in the face as it came for me. No hiding.

Suddenly, James was flung off of me. Jasper had come to save me. He did still care.

No, it was not Jasper. It was Laurent. My heart sunk. I felt like it should've been Jasper to save me.

"James," Laurent said to him as if he had just caught him with his hand in the cookie jar, "You know the rules. You can't kill her. Knock it off."

James stood up from where he had fallen after Laurent had pulled him away from me. He straightened his t-shirt and looked at both Laurent and I. "Looks like Jasper isn't the only one who's affected by her," he said as he left the room. Laurent rolled his eyes and turned to me.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

I nodded, "Yeah. I guess."

"Just stay in here until Jasper gets back." With that, he left and closed the door behind him.

I crawled into the bed, waiting for Jasper's return.

A few minutes after sunrise, I heard him come in. Laurent explained to him what James had done. There was yelling, but they were all yelling over each other, so I didn't understand what was being said. Then the whole house shook, and I knew they were physically fighting. After a minute or two, the shaking stopped, and nothing else was said.

I was relieved that news of what James had done to me had moved Jasper to enough anger to fight a member of his coven. He wasn't angry with me after all. I pulled the covers closer as I waited for him to come and lay down with me.

Minutes passed, then hours. Jasper never came.

I fell asleep alone.

**A/N: For some reason in this chapter, I had a really hard time staying in the past tense, haha. I kept wanting to write in the present tense Probably because I just finished reading Catching Fire (srsly, read it. the last line gave me literal goosebumps!) and that book is written in present tense, so I guess it was just on my brain. So I've gone over and tried to make sure it's all in the past tense, but if you find place I missed, sorry! This is why I need a beta! :P Anywho..So Jasper finally knows that Alice and Edward aren't a couple! Exciting, non? :P Also, we will be getting back to the Bella and Edward narration soon...Like, anywhere between 2-4 chapters. Anyways...Thanks for the reviews everyone, you make my heart go pitter patter ^_^**


	20. Chapter 20

It'd all been for nothing. I'd gone to the trouble of lugging around a human for the past five weeks. I'd tapped into parts of my psyche that I thought had died with me. I'd gone through the mental agony of being incredibly close to yet distant from Alice. She was in my system now. I'd known it for weeks. But at least then I could say it was for a higher purpose. What was it for now?

Edward might've not even really cared about Alice that much, at least not anymore than he did a regular human being. Who was to say he was even actually looking for her? Maybe that is why Finn never let me know he had him- Because he didn't. Because Edward wasn't even searching for Alice.

But he had to be. He and that Bella girl were missing, too. Where were they? Plus, I knew Edward. He would never shirk what he believed to be his moral obligation to Alice. He had brought this on her by living with her, it was his job to get her back. There was no way he would just take the other girl and run. He was far too upstanding to do anything like that. So where was he?

In hindsight, it was a stupid, stupid, _stupid _thing to just assume Edward and Alice were together. I'd gone on what James had seen at Magnificent Mile. Edward and a pretty brunette girl buying a bed together, laughing and smiling at each other. I was such an idiot. I should've known that they weren't together in that way when that girl was the one to bring Alice home to the apartment, not Edward. He wouldn't have left his drunk girlfriend's side.

I couldn't believe I'd made such a basic, thoughtless mistake.

Well, I was paying for it now. My plans were shot to hell.

Or maybe they weren't. Maybe Edward did care about Alice. They had gone on that little shopping trip together. People who are strictly roommates don't usually hang out together outside of the house. They were friends, they had to be. Who cares if he wasn't in love with her? He still cared about her. He would still fight for her. I could still use her.

I was running through the forests, branches and leaves lashing against my face, but it didn't hurt. I had no plans to hunt, despite what I told Alice. I just needed to get out, to run, to think. I couldn't be around her. I had to separate myself from her.

I'd already grown too close to Alice. It had to stop. No more personal conversations by the ocean. No more jokes and smiles and studying the curvature of her petite body. No more lying in bed together talking until she fell asleep. I hated her for believing in me. It was a weight on my shoulders. For the first time in over a hundred years, there was someone who expected me to be more than I was, that thought that there was more to me than a soulless killer. I couldn't stand it. I couldn't stand that I wanted to live up to her- a stupid, meaningless human- opinion of me. She was changing me. But I was a vampire. Change was not in my vocabulary.

My relationship with Alice had to come to a stop. It would only make everything harder. I couldn't let her win. I was a vampire, she was a human. I could kill her or witness her be killed. It would not affect me. I was at the top of the chain. From this moment forward, Alice Brandon was nothing to me.

I ran back to the house, this thought in mind. I repeated it in my head like a mantra. _She's nothing, she's nothing._ I was almost home when the sun was up. I had to walk the rest of the way. I thought about how for everything else, sunlight was a source of energy. But for me and my kind, it drained us. Made us weak. Just another way I was at odds with the natural world.

I went inside the house. The emotions in the house were largely negative. Fear, anger, lust. They were so overwhelming that I hadn't even had to try to feel them. They just hit me. I looked to James, sitting in the same spot, reading the paper. Just as I had left him. Laurent was laying on the sofa with his eyes closed. Nothing looked amiss, but it definitely felt it.

"What happened here?" I asked. "I can feel it, so there's no use denying it."

Laurent opened his eyes and sat up. He glanced furtively at James. "Well. There was a slight altercation between Alice and James."

"What?"

"You left her alone here with me. I figured she was free game," James put down the paper and shrugged.

I was overcome by anger. All thoughts of how she was nothing vanished. I rushed at James. "What the fuck did you do to her?!"

"Beyond scare her, nothing. Calm down," he rolled his eyes.

"I told you to never touch her!"

"No, you told me to not hurt her. Which I didn't."

"Only because I stopped you," Laurent muttered. I didn't know if he had meant for me to hear it; he had said it in a voice so low that even my vampire ears could barely detect it. James quickly gave him an angry glare. I whipped my head around to look at him.

"What do you mean?"

Neither one responded.

"Answer me!"

"She's a goddamn human, Jasper!" James yelled. "It seems you've forgotten that little fact. She is a human. She doesn't care about you, she doesn't want you, she's not secretly pining for you. She's a human who hates the ground you walk on. She's scared of us. We're monsters. I've spent the last fifty years listening to you go on and on about how stupid humans are, and here you've gone and fucking fallen in love with one. It's bullshit, Jasper. Bull. Shit!"

"That has nothing to do with this! I'm the leader of this coven, you do as I say. And I told you to not hurt her!"

"And I didn't! So I don't see what the issue is here!"

"The issue is that you were going to if Laurent hadn't stopped you!"

"And what loss would it be to you? You can't pretend she's just a pawn in a game to mess with Edward anymore. You two go on goddamn dates for Christ's sake! I know that making her think you cared about her was part of the plan here, but the lines between games and reality have blended for you. You're taking it too far. Hell, you're fighting me over her!"

And that was it. Something in me just snapped. I lunged at James, my hands going for his head. I was going to rip it off if it were the last thing I ever did. I'd never hated anyone in that moment as much as I hated him. I hated him for disobeying my commands. I hated him because he was right about me.

We fought for a few minutes, all the while Laurent was trying to break it up. Eventually he succeeded. "Both of you just stop," he said. "You've been friends for decades. Don't let some girl, a human at that, that just waltzed in a few weeks ago ruin everything. James, there are plenty of humans to drink from. If you're hungry, find a human other than Alice. Jasper, I think you'll agree that you've grown a little too attached to her. I think we can all agree on these things, no?"

James and I silently looked at each other.

"I'm outta here. I wasn't made to take orders from anyone, least of all you," James spat at me. Then he turned around and left. I'm not sure where he thought he was going in broad daylight, but he left regardless.

"Well are you happy now?" Laurent asked in an irritated mood.

I ignored his question, "Where's Alice? Is she alright?"

"She's in her room. Sleeping. Although I suspect you two woke her up."

I looked at the door to Alice's room. I wanted to go in to see her, but I knew it was better if I didn't. "So she's okay? She's not hurt in anyway?"

"She's fine. Go look for yourself if you don't believe me."

I believed Laurent. I could tell he was telling me the truth.

I went to Alice's door. I almost knocked. I almost went in. Instead, I paused and lightly touched it before going to sit in Edward's vampire room. Yes, it was his room. He was the ex-coven member that had been studying how to reverse vampirism. I hadn't told Alice this bit of information, for obvious reasons. In fact, she still didn't even know I knew Edward. He had looked for a cure to vampirism for decades. There was no way to reverse it. A vampire would always be a vampire.

I sat on the floor, my head in my hands. I had to make a decision. It was obvious I cared about Alice. I couldn't use her to get at Edward. My plan had been to offer him an ultimatum: Either he turned Alice into a vampire, which she would be begging him to do, or I would kill her on my own. The catch being that he probably couldn't just turn her, years of bloodlust would take over, and he would end up killing her himself.

I felt sick just thinking about it now. Killing Alice was the most grotesque thing my mind could fathom. How could anyone ever hurt her? How could I have ever planned on taking the light in her eyes and extinguishing it? She was beautiful and funny and charming and trusting. How could I ever betray that trust?

It's amazing the clarity that comes when you almost lose something you care about. I had almost convinced myself that Alice didn't matter to me by the time I returned home this morning. Then Laurent told me that James had a go at her, and all those thoughts just disappeared. I could see clearly. I could see -not just my life, but a world without Alice, and it wasn't a world worth much. She had to live.

But a life as a human living among vampires was no real life. It wasn't even very much of a life for a vampire. I couldn't keep Alice. She was a human. She had friends, parents, siblings. She had an entire life ahead of her. I couldn't rob her of her future as I had been of mine.

My mind turned over ideas of how I could keep her, and yet her be able to lead a normal human life. We could never have a normal relationship. Our entire relationship would have to happen while the sun was down or on rainy days. Some human girls could handle sex with a vampire, depending on the strength and control of the vampire, but Alice was so small, and control was not my forte. I would break her. I couldn't ask her to live a life of celibacy just to be with me. We'd never be able to spend a nice, sunny day at the park together. It would be like the past five weeks...Always. Alice and I could keep up a friendship, where we saw each other every now and again. But a romantic relationship was out of the question for us. It would be too selfish of me to ask for such a thing. It would keep Alice from doing all the things she had planned for her human life.

I came to the conclusion that I had to tell Alice the truth, because that is what you do when you care about someone. You tell them the truth. About everything. I would tell her about why I took her, what I had been doing the entire time we'd been together, and how I had messed up at my own game and had feelings for her. I would wait till she woke up tonight. I'd take her out to the beach and tell her everything.

And then I would let her go.

**A/N: Hm. I've always had a hard time writing Jasper, because he's always at odds with himself. But I think he's come to a firm resolution regarding his feelings for Alice now. Anyways. :) Some are worried about going back to the Bella/Edward narrative cause they love Jasper/Alice so much, but don't worry. In the end, all their storylines will fuse together, so even when I'm done with JxA narrative in a few chapters, they will be back in abit! Also...I do know the basic ending to this story already, and it is one that could lend itself to a sequel, so I'm wondering if there's any interest in that? Although I guess your answer to that would depend on the ending, which you haven't read yet :P Just something to ponder..Anyway! Thanks for all the beautiful and kind reviews, they're so lovely :) Hope you enjoyed :)**


	21. Chapter 21

It was around eight o'clock in the evening when I heard my bedroom door open. A few seconds later, a body got in the bed with me. It was Jasper, I just knew. I didn't turn to face him, but continued facing the wall and pretending to sleep. Although he probably knew he had woken me up.

He wrapped his arms around me and held me tightly. He had never done this. Maybe he felt bad for abandoning me earlier. Whatever his reasoning, Jasper was holding onto me for dear life. It almost hurt, but not quite.

We laid like that for about ten minutes. I didn't move. I let the coolness of his skin sink into mine. I noticed how James' cold skin had made me recoil, but with Jasper it was refreshing and pleasant. I felt the lines of his lean and hard body as they curved against mine. He was so tall, he practically enveloped me. I felt so small and safe next to him. I had always felt safe with him, trusted him- Even when common sense had told me not to.

Jasper lightly grazed his fingers down my arm until he came to my hand. He held my hand delicately, as if he was afraid he might break me. Finally, he spoke, "Is this the wrist that was broken?"

Apparently he had known I was awake. "Yes," I simply replied.

"Did you sleep well?"

"No."

"Are you angry with me?"

"No," I truthfully replied. "Just confused."

To this Jasper made no reply. Apparently he didn't care to elucidate his behavior this morning. "I was thinking we could head down to the beach tonight."

"That's fine."

There was something between us, I could feel it. Something was about to happen. Maybe if things were normal, this would be were I would have a vision. But no such luck.

We eventually made our way from the bed. I showered and put on a sundress I had recently lifted, along with a pair of flip flops. I couldn't believe that flip flops had become a staple of my wardrobe. Oh how the mighty have fallen. But I guess we were going to the beach, so flip flops were slightly acceptable.

Instead of running to the beach like usual, Jasper took an old car- a white Corvette- he kept at the house. He hadn't used it since the eighties, so I doubted it would actually work, but it did.

The drive down to the beach was quiet except for the radio. It took longer to get to the beach than normal, because Jasper was driving. The air conditioning on the old car was broken, so I rolled down the window and crossed my arms on the sill, my head resting on my arms. The night air was thick but cool as it grazed across my face and through my hair.

When we got to the beach, I was convinced that Jasper had bad news to tell me. I didn't want to hear it. So I quickly skipped down to the water, stripped down to my underwear, and ran into the warm Gulf sea. I looked back to see Jasper just sitting on the beach, making no attempt to talk to me or make me come back to the sand.

"It's not safe to swim at night, you know," he called after a few minutes. "Sharks move closer to shore."

This fact did frighten me enough to cause me to instinctively move towards the shore a little, but only slightly. I looked down at the water, but it was completely dark, save for the scattered reflection of the moon and stars. It was like swimming in a sea of black velvet. It was beautiful, but the uncertainty was chilling.

"Like a shark could stand up against you in a fight," I called back, laughing to myself at the mental image of Jasper punching a shark in the nose.

"It's not me that would have to be fighting a shark." His tone was lighter now, there was a joking air to it.

I smiled, "Why don't you come in so you can protect me?"

Jasper replied, but a wave hit me from behind and knocked me down, so I didn't hear his response. He must have said yes, though, because when I stood back up, he'd taken off his shirt and was wading into the ocean as well. When he finally stood next to me, the water was up to his chest, while it was up to my neck.

"See?" I said, "I don't have to worry about sharks with you around."

He laughed, "Alice, I don't have shark sensing abilities. I wouldn't know if there's a shark around us unless it bit one of us."

"So we're equals here, then. You're just clueless as I am about what's around us."

"Yep," Jasper nodded. He grew silent again, and I, in turn, grew uncomfortable. There was something hanging in the air now, something bad. I had to break the quiet. So I splashed his face full of water and laughed.

"Got ya," I smiled, and started to swim away. But I ran into a wall. It was Jasper. I rolled my eyes, "So you can swim super fast as well?" Jasper smiled and nodded before starting to float away. He shoved some water in my direction as he floated, a small smile on his face.

"Looks like I got you back," he mused. "Good luck catching up with me." And with that, he disappeared under the water. A few seconds later, I heard him calling my name from far away. I looked to faintly see him about a football field away from where he had just been. Then he went back underwater. He didn't resurface for awhile, but it didn't worry me. He didn't have to breathe and nothing could kill him. He was just messing with me.

So I continued my swimming. Thankfully Gulf waves are small, I didn't have to go very far out to find calm water. I floated on my back and thought about what I would be doing if I were in Chicago. It would almost be midterm by now. I'd be going to class, studying, partying. All of that seemed so...Quaint and...Human. Like it just seemed so mundane and silly now that I knew that a world like Jasper's was real. Although it was hard to deny that I'd love to get to a bar or something and dance. I missed dancing.

Suddenly, there was a force beneath me. It rumbled and pushed me out of the water, and up ten feet into the air. I screamed as I fell back down into...Jasper's arms? I rolled my eyes and punched him in the shoulder, "Show off! You scared me to death!"

"Sorry," he laughed. "Somethings are just too hard to pass up."

"It's okay. But as your punishment, you must carry me back to shore!" I said playfully and pointed to the beach.

Jasper obliged and carried me back to where we had left our clothes. I sat down on the sand, thinking to myself that I should have brought a towel. Jasper sat next to me. "Man, I didn't think of how we'd get sand in the 'Vette."

"Oh, please. Like you care. You haven't even used it since the eighties," I smiled. Jasper shrugged and went back to being quiet again. "But it is a sweet car," I continued on, "Maybe there's like a shower station or something somewhere so we can get all the sand off before we get in the car again. And even if we get sand in the car, it's not like there aren't vacuums and stuff. So yeah, sand isn't really a problem." I couldn't believe I'd rattled on about sand for more than two seconds. Silence settled again. I tried to think of a new topic of conversation. "I wish there was a vampire that could control weather. You'd never have to worry about sunny days ever again. Of course, people might grow suspicious if a person was followed around be a perpetual rain cloud like a cartoon. So I guess they could throw in some sunny-."

But I didn't get to finish my sentence for Jasper's lips crashing into my own. What was happening here? I was confused, but I didn't fight it. Instead, I both instinctually and purposefully pulled him closer to me. This was something I wanted on a lot of levels. I had pretended to be unaffected by his proximity to me as we shared a bed night after night for weeks, but I was a twenty year old girl, and he was handsome and strong; of course I wanted him. But there was something more at play here, something beyond physiological attraction.

But I couldn't work out those reasons right now. All I knew was that Jasper was kissing me, and I was kissing him back, and I wanted more. My heart was beating so fast, my limbs were tingling, my head felt light. I felt like I might pass out. I pushed Jasper back and got on top of him, our kiss never breaking, but ever-deepening.

I broke away for air with a gasp, but went right back for more. It was as if Jasper had awoken something within me. I knew I had wanted this, but not this badly. I had to have him. His hands all over me were cold in contrast to the thick, humid, muggy air around us. His hands ran up the sides of my thighs and waist, the quickness of their movements mirroring that of my thoughts and heartbeat.

I sat up and unhooked my bra. Just as I was pulling my arm out of one of the straps, Jasper quickly took me off of himself and sat me down next to him. "No, no, no," he muttered loudly.

"What's wrong?" I said breathlessly. "What did I do?"

He ran a hand through his blond hair, "You didn't do anything wrong. And trust me, I like the direction you were headed with this thing. But I have to tell you something first. It's important. And if you still want to continue with this after I tell you, then I am more than fine with that. But I would feel guilty if I let us go on without telling you this first."

I could tell this was serious, so I hooked my bra back and went and put my sundress back on. It seemed it would be hard to have a serious conversation in only my underwear. I threw him his shirt. "Put that on or I won't hear a word you say," I joked, trying to bring back some frivolity to the situation. I sat back down across from him. "So what is it?"

Jasper inhaled, "Okay. Well. First, I want you to know that...I just kissed you because I really, _really _like you, Alice. I mean, to be honest, like seems like such a trite and pathetic word compared to how I feel about you. I care about you more than I thought I was capable of caring for someone. Since I've met you, you've made me see things differently. And you...You're extraordinary. When I thought James had hurt you and there was a possibility that I'd lost you, I realized that you've come to mean a lot to me."

My heart swelled. Hearing these words from the usually emotionally distant Jasper was strange, but welcome. Of course I liked Jasper, too. But I hadn't given myself to those feelings. His situation was easy. He liked me. Mine was harder, though. How could I give into whatever romantic impulses I felt, when I wasn't sure of what was coming? I would either return to my family and probably never see Jasper again, or I would stay with Jasper and never see my family again. And how could I pick between the love I had for my family and friends and the fledgling feelings I'd grown for Jasper? Because I did care about him, there was no doubt about it. But what if I did turn my back on my family to stay with Jasper? Wouldn't that make me a horrible human being? And if I went back to my family, dating Jasper would be out of the question. The logistics of human-vampire dating were just too complicated and would add stress on what was an already stressful relationship by its very nature.

"I like you, too," I quietly said, looking up at him and feeling like a middle school girl.

He smiled for a minute before returning to a serious face. "Hold that thought. There is more. I know Edward."

My eyes widened and my jaw dropped just slightly, "What?" I was confused. "How?"

"He used to be a member of my coven. In fact, that room in the house with all the books, that was Edward's study."

"What? Wait," my head was swimming. This made no sense. "Edward's...Edward's a vampire? What's going on?"

"Yes, Edward's a vampire. He and I have a very...Complicated relationship. So when I found out he was living with humans, and even dating one, I thought this was a prime opportunity for some fun. So James and Laurent and Rosalie and I all stopped by the apartment you shared with him, no one was home. But we stayed and waited for him to come home. Eventually, you and that tall girl came in. She left, and James said that you were the girl with Edward, that he had seen you two buying a bed together in a store. So I assumed you two were dating. And so, we took you to mess with Edward. We knew he'd search the world over for the girl he loved. Sort of like a game of hide and seek," Jasper said, watching my face intently for my reaction.

I felt like I had been punched in the chest. There was a sinking feeling. I'd been living with a vampire before I'd even met Jasper. But Edward didn't really look like a vampire. His eyes were that golden brown color, while every other vampire I'd ever seen had red eyes. Jasper had kidnapped me for reasons unrelated to any that he had told me. "So...You never...You never planned to take me back to my family? It was just a joke to keep me calm?! To make me trust you?!" I was getting angry.

Jasper swallowed, "There's more. I can stop here if you've heard enough, though."

"No. I want the truth, because I deserve that much. After what you've done to me," I said forcefully.

"Yes, of course. Well...My main problem with Edward was that he was almost like a human. And I was, I don't know. I guess I was angry that he had the control not to give into his vampire instincts, while I'm a slave to mine. So I wanted to make him falter, to fail...To actually show his true colors. Because he might go around like some human, but deep down, he's a vampire, and there's nothing he can do to change that. I wanted to show him that he's not any better than us. So, my plan was to make you want to become a vampire, but I knew you'd need incentive- You weren't just going to walk away from your family so you could live on the fringes of society killing people for eternity. But I knew if I could make you fall for me, want to be with me forever, that I could possibly have you begging to be turned into a vampire," Jasper seemed nervous telling me all this, and rightfully so. My blood was boiling. If I knew how to kill a vampire on my own, I might've just done it right then.

How could he do this? He had tricked me. I couldn't believe I had just admitted to returning his feelings, all of which were probably just part of the game that he couldn't separate from reality anymore. "You couldn't ever possibly make me want to become one of you disgusting bloodsuckers! I could be head over heels in fucking love with you, and I still wouldn't want any of this."

Jasper didn't react to my words. He knew he deserved them and more. He continued speaking as if he hadn't heard me, "And so, I thought Edward and you were involved. And I knew how much he probably valued your humanity. So I planned to offer him two choices. Either he turned you, or I would flat out kill you."

"What the hell?! You sick fuck!" I stood up and kicked sand at him. I didn't even know what to say. He'd just admitted to having plans to kill me. What do you say to that? I started to angrily walk away, but came to a stop when I realized that there was no where to run to. This was a deserted beach- No homes, no restaurants, no shops. And even if there had been, where could I run that Jasper couldn't catch me first?

I sat on a log and covered my face as I started to cry. I cried because I'd been lied to. I cried because the feelings I had for Jasper were based on a lie, a game. I cried because I missed my family and friends. I wanted to go home to Chicago and sleep in my own bed.

"You said you wanted me to finish, so let me finish, because this is the important part," Jasper sat on the log as well. And I was assuming he was using his manipulating powers, because suddenly I didn't feel angry or hurt at all. He was cheating. "But Alice, the feelings I have for you now...They're real. The way I behaved that made you feel the same for me, it might've been an act for the first few days, but after I started to get to know you, it all came naturally and genuinely. It's impossible to not just adore you, it's impossible not to be happy when I'm around you. And I'm so sorry for lying to you and taking you away from Chicago. Please forgive me, Alice. You mean everything to me now, and I can't stand to think that we're going to part on bad terms."

I looked up at him, "Part?"

"I'm going to take you back to Chicago. And I promise you'll never hear from me again if you don't want to. I just want to make things right between us before we go our separate ways," Jasper said, his voice sincere. "In fact, I'll take you back tonight, if you'd like."

"Yes, I'd like that very much," I said firmly. Jasper let up on the mind control, and I felt the anger flare back up, but enough time had passed that it was now a quiet, seething anger. I stood up. "But I'd like to get some of my things from the house first." As angry as I was at Jasper, I still wanted something to remember this time by. Of course I'd never say that to him now. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction that even though he had abandoned his plan, that I still fell for him, that there was still a trace of softness about me when it came to him.

The ride back to the house was just as quiet as the ride from the house. Only now the silence was fueled by anger, not worry. I tried to take my mind off Jasper, and instead think to the future. I was getting to go home. What would I say to everyone when they asked me where I was and who had taken me? Bella and Edward were missing, too. Would it just be best to pretend my kidnapping had been unrelated to their disappearances? I had to get my story ready. And it had to be fool proof.

We arrived to the house, and I ran to my room. I started picking what I wanted to bring home and what I didn't. Jasper came in and sat on the bed while I went through the closet.

"So do you forgive me?" he asked. "Because you have to know I'm so, so, _so, _sorry, Alice."

I turned around and looked at him. I knew he was sorry, I knew he cared about me. But I was still mad. But these were amongst our last hours together. I could give him the comfort that I would eventually forgive him. Probably when I stopped having feelings for him, whenever that would be. But I could not forgive him for tricking me now, when I felt so strongly for him. It would be easier when he was just a distant memory. "I will. Someday," I swallowed and remained aloof.

"I guess that's reasonable," Jasper said.

"Just take me home...If I bring anything with me, they'll want to know where it came from, how I got it, blah blah blah. It'll be easier if I just come home empty-handed."

We went outside.

Getting back into Jasper's arms for the run home was slightly awkward now. We both knew the other had feelings for the other- That this was just teasing. I knew he wanted to kiss me, among other things. And he knew that I wanted the same. But there was a barrier between us now.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Yes," I replied, my voice sure.

"Well, I'm not," James jumped down from the roof. Two other figures jumped down beside him. One was a vampire I didn't recognize. The other was the female hunter from a few weeks ago...Evangeline.

"James," Jasper said, "It's over. We're leaving now. I'll be back in a day or two."

"That doesn't really work for me," James said. "Now, you can come with me and my friends peacefully, or Evangeline here with make you come with us. Not so peacefully. You know?"

Jasper looked at Evangeline who seemed to have some sort of bow raised towards him. What did she think a simple bow would accomplish against a vampire? I almost laughed.

"Let it go. We're leaving," Jasper forcefully said and attempted to move past the trio.

And with that, Evangeline shot the arrow in her bow at Jasper. To my surprise and horror, Jasper fell to the ground. "Jasper?!" I knelt next to him. He didn't respond. "Oh my god, Jasper! Answer me!" I looked up at Evangeline, "You killed him, you bitch!"

"Not yet, I haven't," she gave me an odd sort of grin.

I then felt something hit me on the back of the head. I was overcome by pain. My vision blurred and clouded.

I slipped into darkness.

**A/N: I was going to have my beta (Fatal Excuses, read her stuff!) read over this before I posted, but I'm going to be away from a computer for a week+ so I'm just going ahead and putting it up now so I won't have gone for 2 weeks without an update. I'm pretty sure this is the end of J/A for now. I have to get back into a B/E frame of mind. I don't know if anyone else feels this way, but to write from different people's perspectives every chapter and to get into their head and try to write the way they would, it's mentally exhausting. Like I literally had to take a nap after I wrote this chapter. And thinking about having to go back to Bella and Edward after being away from them is somewhat daunting and I'm tired just thinking about it, haha. But at the same time, I'm really excited to write it because it's what's been in my head for the longest, so it will be nice to finally get it out. Anyways...Thanks for the reviews, keep em coming :)**


	22. Chapter 22

This Shameless Moment-Part Three-Bella & Edward

"We're lost," Rosalie seemed to have finally been able to resign herself to the fact. I had figured that out hours ago, but I knew better than to verbalize those thoughts to Rosalie. When she had been sure of where to go, she ran so fast that Edward had a hard time keeping up. But over the course of the run, Rosalie slowed down. Her direction seemed more erratic and random than sure.

"Maybe we should just take a break," Edward said to her in a kind voice. He was always so nice to her, and it irked me. But what else could I expect? Edward was always nice to everyone, even humans.

"There's- It's like a wall," Rosalie said, half to herself, half to Edward. She rarely spoke to me directly.

"What do you mean?"

"Like I try to go one way, and I think I am, but then suddenly I realize that I've been going off track little by little, and that now we're totally off track."

"I don't mean to sound rude," I glanced at Rosalie, "But don't you guys know a tracker...Like a real tracker? I appreciate your efforts, Rosalie, I sincerely do. But my best friend is in the hands of what I've been led to believe is a psychotic vampire. Time is important."

"I know plenty of 'real' trackers," Rosalie shrugged, "However it probably wouldn't be two seconds before they killed you when they saw you. So if you want us to get one, trust me, I have no problems with it."

No matter how hard I tried to be nice to Rosalie, despite the fact that I did not like her, I never made any leeway with her. She was always snappy and sarcastic with me. Would it kill her to at least pretend to be nice?

"Rose is right, Bella," Edward said. I hated when he called Rosalie 'Rose.'

Accepting the fact that Edward was a vampire aroused a variety of emotions for me. Naturally, part of me was quite frightened. But then I realized I had been living with him for months, and he had never so much as lifted a finger towards me. There was something very attractive about that. And very curious. He wasn't human, why would he choose to be bound by human ideas of morality? And he had mentioned something about a long story regarding vampire venom. I wanted to know that story. So here I was; frightened, intrigued, curious- and most embarrassingly of all- attracted. I felt like such a cliche. But dammit, power is sexy.

I saw Edward in an entirely new light, but also in very much the same light. I had learned that despite being a vampire and far more powerful than I had ever anticipated, Edward was a lot like what I thought him to be like back when I thought he was a human. He was still the sweet, unsure guy I thought of him as. But now he was also a vampire. I had never really considered vampires to be anything but brooding and bloodthirsty, but Edward pretty much shattered any preconceptions I had about them.

Hearing him call Rosalie 'Rose' bothered me. It made them seem so close. A closeness that I thought was reserved for me and him. The past few months of living with each other...We never needed words or explanations. We could just be together in a room and that was good enough. There was a peace and calmness in each others' presence. It was almost an ethereal connection, which I had previously scoffed at in my head. Such 'magic' didn't exist. But now it did. And the other-worldly connection I felt with Edward didn't feel as silly as I had first thought.

At least Rosalie didn't call him Ed or Eddy...Although I can't picture anyone ever calling him that, no matter how close they might be with him. Edward was an Edward, through and through.

Edward looked at his watch. "It's almost time for the sun to rise. We need to find shelter."

So for now, Rosalie gave up on the tracking and concentrated on finding a place to stay for the daylight hours. We showed up in the suburbs. "I don't think we'll find a place here," Edward said. "These are all full of people."

"Not this one," Rosalie smiled as she ran up to a house. She pushed the front door open, despite it being locked. It was odd to see anyone, much less a girl with a supermodel physique like Rosalie, perform feats that required such strength.

Edward paused, most likely listening for human thoughts- or at this hour, dreams. "You're right. There is no one in there. How did you know?" he was confused.

"It was weird. Almost as soon as I abandoned the idea of tracking Jasper and them, I was practically led here. They were here, I can feel it. I can even slightly smell vampires, although it was a day or two ago. Can't you?"

Edward inhaled. "Wow. I do. That is strange."

"And I know Jasper would never leave a house of humans alive. So here we are," Rosalie went inside. Edward put me down and we followed her inside.

The house seemed to be in a general state of disarray- Not like there had been a fight or struggle, but it seemed lived-in. Like any minute now the child to whom the yellow truck on the bottom stair belonged would trudge down looking for his or her beloved toy. But the house was silent. There was no one living here.

"So," I said and looked up at Edward, "If they're all dead, where are they?"

Just then we heard a noise upstairs. Something had fallen. Edward and Rosalie looked at each other. I was starting to feel left out of their little vampire club.

"There's someone up there," Rosalie breathed.

"Bella, you stay down here," Edward said as he and Rosalie started to slowly go up the stairs. "Hello?...Hello?"

Then suddenly a young child- A boy with sandy blonde hair and dark brown eyes- appeared at the top of the stairs.

It was such an unexpected sight. Rosalie and Edward just stood on the stairs, motionless.

"Hi," I broke the silence and came up the stairs towards the child. "I'm Bella. Where's your mommy and daddy?"

The little boy seemed confused. "How old are you?" I asked.

"I'm ten," the boy replied, but he was looking at Rosalie and Edward. He seemed transfixed on them, as they were on him.

"Okay, is there something I'm missing here? What's going on? Do you all know each other?"

"Bella, we need to leave," Edward grabbed my hand and started to pull me towards himself.

"You don't have to leave," the little boy said. "I don't have any weapons or training. I'm practically as useless as a human."

My eyes widened. "What are you?" I asked without thinking.

"I can't tell you," he replied. "But they," he looked at Rosalie and Edward, "They probably know."

"He's a hunter," Rosalie said. "It's why we can't hear his heartbeat or breathing. And probably why Edward couldn't hear his thoughts. We need to leave."

"Please don't go," the child said, "The others, the vampires here before you, they killed my entire family. I don't know what to do." His eyes were wet with tears.

"Come on," Rosalie walked down the stairs and towards the door, "We still have a few minutes before the sun comes up to find some place else to stay."

I pulled against Edward and tried to go to the child, "Bella, come on."

"No," I said. "Can't you see he's upset? You want a chance to act human? Then don't leave him here."

"Edward, you can't read his mind. We can't trust him. Or even her for that matter. We're leaving," Rosalie stood firm.

"Fine, you two leave. I'm staying with him," I broke free of Edward's grasp and ran and stood behind the boy.

Edward was once again torn between me and Rosalie. Only this time, he picked my side. "Wouldn't he have killed us already?" he said to Rosalie. "Besides, he is just a child. Full hunting abilities don't kick in until puberty, right?"

Rosalie rolled her eyes, but apparently Edward had convinced her. She closed the front door and stayed.

"What's your name?" I asked the boy.

"Clark," he replied.

"Are you hungry, Clark?"

He sheepishly nodded.

"Well then, let's go see what there is to eat in the kitchen," I let him lead me down the stairs and to the kitchen.

Rosalie kept her distance from Clark and stayed in the living room while Clark ate in the kitchen. I sat across from him at the table. Edward was in the kitchen, but stayed away and kept his distance. It was funny to see Rosalie and Edward scared of a ten year old.

"So when were the other vampires here?" I asked him. "And why didn't they get you?"

"Two mornings ago. They didn't get me because I was hiding. Vampires' powers don't work on me because I'm half hunter. So unless they see me, they don't really have a way of knowing I'm here. Or unless I do something stupid...You all wouldn't have known I was here until I knocked over my clock in my room," Clark looked over at Edward as he took a bite of food. "They're really scared of me, huh?"

I smiled, "They are."

"It doesn't make sense," Edward spoke, as if this proved he wasn't scared of Clark, "If you're from a family of hunters, how did Jasper and his friends manage to kill all of them except for the unarmed and untrained one?"

"I'm half hunter. My family is all human. My real father, whoever he is, is a hunter. But my mom was married to a human...My brothers and sisters were all human. I was raised as a regular human. But my mom told me about what I really was as soon as I was old enough to understand."

"Why weren't you raised as a hunter?" I asked.

Clark shrugged, "Probably because Dad- er, the man Mom was married to- didn't know I wasn't his. That's why my mom told me as soon as she could, so I wouldn't display my abilities...Namely running super duper fast."

Scandalous. It was strange, hearing a ten year old child talk about something like this. And to talk about it so easily, like it wasn't a big deal that the man he called Dad wasn't his real father, that he was half hunter, half human, living as a human. He said it all as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"Well, do you hear that?" I looked to Edward, "You don't have to worry. All he can do is run fast."

This actually seemed to put Edward more at ease.

"So you just grew up knowing about vampires and stuff?" I leaned on my elbow.

"Yeah. Mom told me about them. And that when I saw one to hide or run. She had the house protected by a witch so the vampires couldn't find her. She said that when she was younger she hung out with all sorts of non-humans, and that there was a vampire in particular that wanted to kill her. She knew it would happen someday, though."

"Where is your family?" Edward interrupted our conversation. I was seeing a new side to Edward. He had no patience for Clark. "If Jasper killed them all, where are they?"

"They put them in the basement. And they didn't get my sisters. They're off at college. But my parents, my little brothers...The put their bodies in the basement," Clark's eyes started to water again. "I haven't gone down there. I'm too scared to."

"Have you called your sisters?" Edward asked.

Clark sniffled, "No. I don't know what I would tell them. I was the only one my mom told about vampires and stuff. I don't know where to go or who to tell." His voice was breaking and his face reddening from holding in the tears.

"Rosalie!" Edward called and within seconds Rosalie was there. "Go check the basement for-" and I then saw the spark of kindness that I had grown to expect from Edward. He refrained from saying 'the bodies' or 'his family,' which would have no doubt sent Clark into tears. "Just go check the basement." I smiled at Edward. That was the Edward I knew.

We heard the basement door open, "Holy shit," Rosalie said. "There's definitely something dead down there." We heard her go down the stairs. She returned to the kitchen. "Kid's telling the truth," she muttered.

"Did the vampires have a girl with them? Long dark hair, skinny, green eyes?" I turned to Clark, hoping to take his mind off the fact that his dead family was on the floor beneath us.

Clark swallowed, "Yes. She was screaming and crying a lot, but she was still alive when they left here. I think they broke her wrist. I was under my parents' bed the whole time they were here. Her and one vampire came to my parents' room and he took away the pain for her. Then they stayed until it was dark outside, and then they left."

Alice was alive. At least as of two days ago. I rejoiced in this small fact.

I looked at the clock. It was seven in the morning. I yawned, as fatigue started to slip into the edges of my mind. "Well, I'm on a vampire's schedule, so I'm going to get some sleep," I said as I stood up. I thought about leaving Clark in the hands of Edward and Rosalie. I didn't completely feel all right with it. "Do you want to come with me, Clark?"

Clark looked at me and then at Rosalie and Edward. I think he understood why I was asking. Us mortals needed to stick together. I could trust Edward, but not Rosalie. "I would," Clark stood up from the table and started upstairs.

"Never knew you were so maternal," Edward said in a cool voice.

"I didn't know you were such a chicken. Both of you," I glanced at Rosalie. "He's just a kid."

"He's a hunter," Rosalie said in a quiet but angry tone. "Don't you understand that? His kind exists for the sole purpose of destroying us! It doesn't matter if he's just a kid! He could still kill us if he wanted to!"

"It's like Edward said, if he wanted to kill you, I'm sure he would've done it by now. You've both been nasty enough to warrant it."

With that I turned on my heel and went upstairs. "Bella, in here," Clark's voice called from a room. It was apparently his parents' bedroom.

We laid on the bed, me drifting in and out of sleep as Clark, vibrantly awake, asked me questions. "How did you get mixed up with two vampires? And that one, the guy, he doesn't look like a regular vampire. What's up with him?"

"The other vampires...They took my friend Alice..The dark-haired girl. We're looking for them..Edward and Rosalie are helping me," I replied, my thoughts cloudy.

"And the boy vampire- Edward? Why does he look different? His eyes aren't red? Are they contacts? Mom told me that sometimes vampires use contacts to trick people," out of the sight of Edward and Rosalie, Clark was prattling off questions that made him seem more like his age.

"Edward only drinks animal blood."

"Really? I've never heard of a vampire doing something like that. Mom never said anything like that..." Clark drifted off. "I should have been able to save them."

No. No fucking way. This kid was far too young to putting that kind of blame on himself. "You're only ten years old. Even regular vampire hunters with training couldn't kill all those vampires by himself," I said. I didn't know if this was true or not, but I didn't think it mattered. The fact that he was ten still stood.

I then heard Clark crying. I rolled over onto my side to look at him. "I'm really sorry about your family, Clark. We'll figure some stuff out when we wake up, okay?"

Clark reminded me of someone. He had from the moment I saw him at the top of the stairs. I just couldn't think of who. And then it hit me. He reminded me of Jack- Carlisle's son. It was the sandy, dirty blonde hair. Maybe that's why I had such a soft spot for Clark when children typically annoyed me. Jack had died years before I had even met Carlisle, but in some twisted way I felt doing right by Clark was reparation for what I had done to Esme. It didn't make much sense, but not much had been making any sense at all lately, so I didn't question it.

Just as I fell asleep, I felt Clark clutch onto my arm as his sobs subsided and his breathing steadied. He fell into what I hoped was a peaceful sleep.

A/N: I must say, going back to Bella and Edward was really hard. I wanted to make the first chapter of going back to them kinda catching, but I don't think I did. Erg. But it's definitely going to get more exciting as it goes on, so there's always that to remember, haha :D And I didn't get many reviews for chapter 21, but I think that's because most of you couldn't click on the link in your update alert, or you could but it said the page was unavailable. Or maybe you all just hated chapter 21, IDK. Anyways. Hope everyone enjoyed that chapter, and I hoped you enjoyed this one as well. Such fun is down the pike :D Review if you feel so inclined!! :D And oh, thanks to my beta (Fatal Excuses)!


	23. Chapter 23

It seemed like too much of a coincidence.

Out of all the houses Jasper could have stayed in, he chose the one on the block with a half-hunter child living in it.

Rosalie and I sat downstairs while Bella and Clark were asleep.

"I didn't sign up for this," Rosalie gave me a harsh look. "Find your friend, fine. Carry along your little human girlfriend, I'd prefer not to, but I'll survive. But stay with a goddamn hunter?! I don't think so."

"I don't like it any more than you do. But what can we do? Besides, he does seem pretty harmless. All he can do is run, and even then, we're probably still faster. He's only ten years old," I tried to reason with Rosalie, which was hard, considering I felt the same way as she did about Clark.

"You know we would've found Alice by now if we hadn't brought Bella along. Let's just go and leave them here. They'll be fine on their own."

"We can't leave them now...We've been gone for nearly three days. People have probably already noticed that Alice and Bella are missing...Not to mention me. People are probably looking for them now. If Bella just shows up in some random town with some random kid, without me, without Alice...It will just mean people asking a lot of questions. And I know Bella wouldn't say anything at first, but Alice's father is a rich man- They will beat her down with questioning until she tells them everything she knows. We just can't set her loose, the consequences could be...Unpleasant...For all of us."

Rosalie knew I was right and sank back into her chair. "If newborns weren't such pains in the ass, I'd say we just turn both of them and be done with it."

I scowled at Rosalie, the idea of Bella becoming a vampire not one I was particularly fond of. Yes, Bella had been slightly difficult to be around as of late, but I blamed it on stress, fear, worry, and other fairly common human emotions. The wall she had up around her was just to keep me from seeing that she was scared. It was the only explanation that really made sense. She was always so sweet and gentle before- Before she knew what I was. But once I told her the truth of the matter...She just seemed to change. She was a bit more abrasive, defensive, hard. I knew if I just gave her time and didn't push her, she would get back to her old self. But I also knew waiting for that time would probably be torturous.

"We should look around. Make sure he's not lying about not having any weapons," Rosalie stood up.

"You go on. I'm just too tired to be a skeptic right now."

_You trust him because she trusts him. And you trust her._ Rosalie's thoughts were both angry yet resigned. Like this was a truth that she would just have to accept, unfortunately.

"I do trust Bella. I know she's good, Rose. I don't trust the kid because she trusts him, though. I don't really trust the kid at all. But until he proves himself untrustworthy, I'm not going to raise a fuss about it. Maybe if we're nice to him, he'll be nice back. I mean, he claims to never been trained, so he's obviously not been brainwashed by hunting mentors into being a vampire killing machine."

"It's in his blood, Edward. He doesn't have to be brainwashed or taught to want to kill us. It's what he wants to do."

"Maybe you can help our case by going on a more human-friendly diet," I said, slightly joking, knowing Rosalie wouldn't be up for such a change, but still wishing she would. Plus, it would probably help. Why would a vampire hunter kill a vampire that only killed animals? They probably wouldn't. Maybe.

"Very funny," Rosalie rolled her eyes. She left the room.

I was exhausted. I wished for sleep, or anything that could give my mind rest. I was tired of thinking. Of constantly hearing everything around me.

Hours passed. It was about an hour till sundown when Bella came downstairs. Her hair was wet from the shower, her face cleared of all make up. She was radiant. She still wore the dress from the club. That seemed like another lifetime. So much had changed in just a few days. Bella gave me a small smile as she came and sat down on the sofa with me. She sat on the end, with me in the center. She laid her legs across my lap. For a minute it felt like we were back at the apartment.

"Good morning," she said in a markedly more pleasant mood than she had been earlier.

"Good morning to you, too," I replied, smiling.

"We're taking Clark with us, you know."

"Is that why you're being so smiley? Hoping to make me more amenable to this idea?" I asked.

"Maybe. And I'm just in a general good mood right now. It's amazing what a shower will do for you."

"Why do you trust him so easily? Especially-," I began, but she interrupted.

"Especially after I was lied to by someone I consider a friend for months? That's a good question. Probably because I'm stupid. I just naturally trust people until they prove themselves untrustworthy," Bella shrugged. "Which is always too late."

"I'm sorry for lying to you. But you have to understand why."

"I understand why you did it. Because you think I'm weak. You didn't think I'd be able to handle it. But look at me now. I'm handling it, aren't I?"

"Yes," I replied, "But it wasn't because I thought you were weak. It was because," I didn't know what to say. Why hadn't I told Bella about what I was? There was the rule that vampires' existence must be kept secret, but no one really enforced it. There was the Volturi, but they couldn't keep track of every human that knew about vampires. Not that many lived to tell about it in the first place. Then I realized why I hadn't told Bella, and I knew that if I said it aloud, it would just sound stupid.

"Well?" Bella said in a smooth voice.

"This is going to sound really...Juvenile." Bella just gave me a look, urging me to go on. "Okay. Because I want you to like me, Bella. I knew if I just flat out told you...Well, I mean, look at it now. I told you, and you don't really seem to be liking me too much ever since."

"I'm not mad that you're a vampire. I'm mad that you didn't just tell me up front."

"Do you hear yourself talking? If I had just up front told you, 'Oh hey, let's be friends. By the way, I kinda have a thing about blood. In fact, I'm sort of obsessed with it. Actually, I solely survive on it. Funny, huh?' you would have never spoken to me ever again. If Alice weren't missing right now, I really doubt you'd be hanging around me," I said, feeling more and more pathetic as I revealed this insecurity.

"Edward," Bella took her legs off my lap and sat so that we were shoulder to shoulder on the sofa. Her voice had taken on a softer tone. "I'm not going to deny that the whole vampire thing was a bit much to take at first. But it doesn't define you. So yeah, you drink blood. But all the things I liked about you before I knew that you were a vampire, they're still real. You're still just as sweet and creative and intelligent as you ever were. Everything that made me love you...They're not gone." She smiled and held my hand.

"Love me?" I feared to ask for clarification.

"Well, yeah. We're close, Edward. I mean, maybe you don't feel the same way, but I don't know. You just always seemed to get me," she shrugged as she pulled her hair behind her ears.

"That must have been the best shower ever," I laughed. "This is beyond just buttering me up to keep Clark."

Bella shrugged, "Well while I was in the shower, I did mentally reevaluate the situation. And I thought of Clark- He's lost his family. He's not even a full human. He's been living alone in a house with his dead family for days, scared and confused out of his mind, but somehow he seems to be handling everything with much more grace than is typical of a ten year old boy. Then I thought of myself. My family is alive and well, and with the exception of Alice, they're all perfectly safe and sound. Yeah, one of my best friends turned out to be a vampire, but he's a good vampire," she grinned, "And all in all, I don't really have that much to be bitching about. So I'm going to try harder to be more...Agreeable."

"I think Rosalie will like this idea," I smiled. "So, you've forgiven me for not telling about the vampire thing right off the bat?"

Bella nodded, an amused grin across her pretty face, "Yep. And it looks like we still have a little while before we can get running. Let's watch some TV, hm?" She reached and grabbed the remote from the coffee table before us. She turned on the TV and leaned back against the sofa, nestled against me while she flipped through the channels. "Speaking of Rosalie. Where is she?"

"She's in the garage. For some reason she thinks that would be the last place Clark would look for her."

Bella laughed, "Can't believe you two are so scared of him! I mean, don't tell him I told you, because I'm sure it would crush his male ego, but the kid fell asleep crying in my arms last night. He's not going to kill you two."

I didn't reply. I knew Bella genuinely believed Clark to be harmless, and she seemed to have some sort of affection for him. But she was blinded by her emotions. She just saw what she wanted to see in the boy. "Look...I can be nice to him, but...Bella, you can't ask Rosalie or I to like him or care about him in any way. It is just the way we are wired. I can't be his friend. All I can do is not kill him. I'm sorry, but that's how it is."

Bella slowly nodded in understanding, "I guess that's all I can ask anyway." She then turned her focus to the TV, her head resting on my shoulder. It felt so much like a lazy day back at the apartment. Only now in the back of our minds, we were counting down the minutes until we could get back to the search for Alice. Even in resting, our minds were constantly moving.

As Bella flipped through the channels, she was not surprised to see pictures of Alice on the cable news stations. She was, however, surprised to see her own- And mine. "Wow. I didn't even think that people would be looking for us, too. Weird. I'm a missing person. But I guess if I have to be a missing person, I'd rather be missing like this...Not like Alice." Bella watched the news for a few minutes before changing over to some fashion design reality snow. I recognized it as one of Alice's favorites. "Do you think Jasper will let her live? Do you think she's still alive?"

Bella's guess was as good as mine. I could easily see Jasper leading me on some wild goose chase, only to have me find him and an already dead Alice. I could imagine the smile on his face, the sick laugh. "I don't know," I truthfully replied. "But I hope she's still alive...Your friend is coming downstairs."

"I thought you couldn't sense hunters?" Bella looked up at me.

"Just life signs. I can't hear their breathing or heartbeat...Or thoughts. But I can hear anyone walk down the stairs," I laughed.

Clark entered the room and sat in the recliner adjacent to the sofa. He looked at the TV. "My sisters love this show," he remarked.

"That raises a very important issue," Bella drew away from me and sat on the edge of the couch. "Are you going to call them? I mean, people will eventually wonder why no one has entered or exited this house in days, and why they're not picking up the phone. Your sisters are going to eventually find out something's wrong. Where are they?"

"College. Jess is in Florida, Lauren is in Texas. They just left about a week ago, they won't be coming back until Thanksgiving. They don't really call very often, so it will be a while," Clark scratched his eyebrow.

Rosalie came back in from the garage, and came to a stop once she saw Clark in the living room.

"I think we need to bring him with us," Bella looked at me and then at Rosalie. As much as I didn't want to be anywhere near Clark, I also was enjoying Bella's pleasant mood, and I wasn't feeling particularly argumentative. I glanced up at Rosalie. "He obviously doesn't belong in a purely human world. His entire life has been about hiding who he is, I think he should get to be around people who understand."

"Fine," she scowled. "But let it be known I do not like this. And you have to carry him because I am not touching him," she looked at me.

"You don't need to carry me. I can run just as fast as you all can," Clark interrupted, seemingly proud of the fact.

Bella and Clark ate some cereal. He gave her some of his sister's clothes, and it was time to go. We ran by the light of a particularly bright full moon. Clark had slightly exaggerated his speed, but he was able to keep up with us fairly well. Running with a hunter at my back put me on edge, and I ran just a bit faster than usual.

We came into a small town. Rosalie stopped outside a small shop. An herbal remedy shop. It would be closing in an hour, and Rosalie went inside. "We don't have time for a shopping excursion, Rose."

Rosalie glared at me, "I know that. I don't know if you remember this or not, but I'm tracking Jasper. And he was here. So how about you just shut up and let me do this, m'kay?"

It seemed I would never be lucky enough to have both Rosalie and Bella being civil towards me at the same time.

The four of us browsed around the shop, wondering what on earth Jasper could be doing here. "Let's go," I turned to Rosalie, "He probably just ate here or something."

"I don't think a shop would open its doors for business if someone was killed here only a day or two ago," Bella said. "Rosalie is probably onto something." And I really wished I could hear Bella's thoughts. I wanted to know if she was genuinely being nice to Rosalie, or she was just trying to smooth things over. Either way, her reason didn't actually matter. I just wanted the two to get along.

Clark wandered around the store, aimlessly and for all intents and purposes- uselessly. He hadn't been raised as a hunter, and he was half human, so he couldn't help us. But maybe he could, and he just wasn't. Hell if I knew.

We probably looked suspicious, especially Rosalie- She wore a pair of sunglasses she had recently stolen to cover up her eyes. It wouldn't have been suspicious had it been daylight, but it was around eight thirty in the evening and quite dark outside.

Bella and I were standing in front of a cupboard, staring listlessly at a bottle of some kind of oil, when I felt Clark tug on my shirt. "Look," he held up a silver object. It looked like a piece of jewelry.

"What is it?" Bella asked.

"The witch that Mom had protect our house had a charm like this," he handed it to Bella, but Rosalie quickly snatched it away from her.

"Where did you get this?" Rosalie demanded.

"It was near the register. I don't think we can buy it."

I turned to Rosalie, "Why would Jasper be visiting a witch?"

"Can I help you all?" a middle aged woman approached us. "Oh, I see you found my charm. I'm sorry, but that's not for-." She didn't finish her sentence after she saw me. "Are you kidding me?" she seemed annoyed at the sight of me. "All of you, get out right now."

"We have to ask you some questions, we're looking for a friend," I said in a polite tone. "I promise we're not here to cause any trouble."

The woman was silent, looking at our ragtag group. "If you're looking for Jasper, he was here two days ago. Some girl had a broken wrist and he had me fix it. Then he left. I don't know where he went, so don't bother asking me."

"But the girl was alright?" Bella asked.

"She was fine. A little disrespectful and skeptical, but she was otherwise in fine condition."

I heard Bella breathe a sigh of relief. "Just to be clear, the girl was human, right? Short, dark hair, green eyes?" I asked, wanting to be sure there was no miscommunication.

"That would be her. Now get out of my store," the woman stood close to us, not wanting to cause a scene in front of her other customers- All two of them.

"Thank you so much," I said as I scooted Bella and Clark along, Rosalie following me. Outside the shop, I smiled. "Well, at least we know for a fact we're on the right track, and that Alice is alive. Jasper even got her medical attention."

"No one can dislike Alice," Bella said as I picked her up, "I bet even Jasper is in danger of falling prey to her charms."

I slightly laughed, hoping such a thing were possible. But I knew it wasn't. I knew Jasper. Whatever goodness he might have once possessed was long gone. Jasper was one the few vampires that I considered a lost cause. He had gotten Alice's broken bone fixed, but I knew it was only because her pain probably plagued his mind. It was for his own peace, not hers.

Rosalie began tracking once again, and once again, we set off to run through the forests. We had been running for about an hour when from the darkness surrounding us, something lunged at Rosalie and dragged her down to the ground. She screamed. "Rosalie!" I called. I ran to her, and as I was doing so, I heard growls- More specifically, howls. There were only two creatures that howled and could take down Rosalie. One was a shapeshifter. But there was a full moon out tonight, and that meant one thing.

Werewolves.

**A/N: Hurrah another chapter. Thanks to Fatal Excuses for being my beta. And thanks to everyone who reviewed my last chapter. And I just want to make sure everyone got to read chapter 21, cause honestly, I love that chapter, haha. And it's important cause it was the last J/A narration for awhile, so when things get back to J/A things will make more sense :) Someone asked if there will be more J/A POVs, and YEP! There will be :) In fact, I've already written some more from Alice's POV because I'm finding it's hard to abandon her, haha. And they asked about Rosalie and Emmett...I was planning to get them together in this story at one point, but I decided to change around some things, so now to get Rosalie and Emmett together would be really contrived and forced...It wouldn't really flow. So unless I think of a way, RxE might have to wait. But yeah..This little ramble has gone on long enough. Anyways. ENJOY! And REVIEW :)**


	24. Chapter 24

I was holding tightly onto Edward, stretching my neck to see Clark running behind us. He wasn't as fast as Edward and Rosalie, but I could tell he was enjoying being able to run at his full speed for the first time in probably a long time.

But then I heard a woman scream. "Rosalie!" Edward called. I whipped my head back to face forward; the idea of the woman screaming being Rosalie worried me. If something could make Rosalie scream, it could do a whole hell of a lot worse to me.

What happened next was somewhat of a blur. Edward ran to Rosalie. He set me down and knelt down next to her. He pushed me away, "Bella, you need to hide, get away from here!" he was surveying Rosalie's injury. But I was frozen. I didn't know what to do. What just happened? He looked up at me as I stood above him and Rosalie, "Go!" he said as he shoved me away once more.

Clark had caught up with us. "What's wrong?" he looked down at Rosalie, who was now sitting up.

Just as Rosalie sat up, a black shadow moved in the corner of my eye. Before I could gather what it was, it jumped up on me, effectively knocking me to the ground. I tried to push it away, but I could feel its hot, smelly breath on my face as it growled, its claws around my chest. I was being crushed under the weight of it. I couldn't breathe.

Suddenly the weight was lifted off me, and the shadow was flung. I heard it yelp as it hit something. What the hell was this thing?

I noticed that despite the creature's hot breath no longer bearing down on me, there was still something warm all over my chest. I ran my hand over my chest- There was some kind of liquid on it. I raised my hand to look at it in the moonlight. It was blood.

I was bleeding, but I felt no pain. I hadn't even felt the thing cut me. But now that I knew I was bleeding, I began to mentally panic. My vision began to blur. My head rolled to the side so that my cheek was pressed against the grass. I saw figures- That's all I could make out. Figures fighting. I couldn't tell if they were Edward and Rosalie and more creatures or what.

I was being moved- pulled- away from where I was lying. The blurred vision was becoming less blurry and more and more just plain dark. When my body stopped moving, there was a voice talking to me, but I couldn't understand what it was saying.

Then there was a noise. A loud yet low-pitched noise. It moved the ground beneath me. And then silence.

My vision was improving, but the pain was worsening. The fact that I had evidently been clawed by whatever that thing was had set in. I guess my endorphins had worn off, and now the pain was rushing. I clenched my jaw and breathed heavily to keep from screaming.

Somewhere in the midst of this, I had been propped up against a tree. Clark was by my side. Maybe his had been the voice I could not understand earlier. I tried to speak but was unable- There was a laceration in my throat. I mouthed the word 'Edward' to Clark.

"Edward! Rosalie!" Clark called. "She's bleeding really badly!"

I looked down to see blood soaking the grey t-shirt Clark had lent me. I started to feel light headed.

To my disappointment, it was Rosalie that came to inspect my wounds, not Edward. "I know I'm not Edward, but you're bleeding pretty bad," she said as she knelt down next to me. I could tell she was having to exercise an immense amount of self control to not finish me off. Her face was smeared with dirty and her already wind-swept hair had leaves and sticks in it. There was a cut below her right eye. "He doesn't trust himself to do this. I mean," Rosalie was not breathing, and it was visible that she was quite uncomfortable, "Being around you."

"What are you going to do?" Clark asked, clearly intrigued.

"I'm going to heal her. Cause if I don't, next full moon she'll be the one turning into a werewolf and attacking us," Rosalie snapped.

Werewolf?

Was that what attacked me?

I had been scratched- make that mauled- by a werewolf. I was going to turn into a werewolf. I tried to speak but no words came out. It seemed the more I tried to speak, the weaker I grew.

I looked beyond Rosalie and saw Edward standing about fifty feet away. He was watching. "It'll be okay, Bella," he loudly said. "Rosalie can save you." But I wanted him to be the one to save me.

Suddenly Rosalie took a bite of her own flesh. A bite of her wrist. My eyes widened. What the hell was happening? "Drink this," Rosalie shoved her bloody wrist at me.

I shook my head, unsure of what is was. Vampire blood couldn't possibly be safe.

"It's fine, Bella. It won't turn you into a vampire or anything. It will just heal your wounds and make sure you don't sprout paws and fur next month."

I was still apprehensive. "Bella, drink it," Clark said. "You're going to die if you don't. You've lost a lot of blood already."

Clark was right. My head was spinning, and had I been standing, I'm sure I would have passed out. The pain was softening, but my vision was becoming hazy again. I could not feel my body. I gathered my energy and opened my mouth. Rosalie held her wrist above my mouth as her blood dripped. It wasn't red blood, it was a deep blue, almost violet color.

The blood was bitter, but somehow addictive. I didn't want to drink it, but after a few sips, I _had_ to have it. I felt stronger already. I grabbed Rosalie's arm to pull her wrist closer to my mouth, but pulled it away. "If you're strong enough to be aggressive for it, then you've had enough," she said. She stood up above me and glanced at Clark. "Clean up all this blood. We only have so much self-control," she said before returning to Edward. The two began talking, but they were too far away for me to hear what they were saying.

Clark looked around for something to wipe the blood off me but found nothing and had to use his own jacket. "How did you pull me away? That was you, wasn't it?" I asked as he wiped the blood off my arms.

He shrugged, "Adrenaline, plus you're not very heavy. I'm not strong like a hunter, if that's what you're asking...I wonder if there's a stream or anything nearby...There's just too much blood. We need water to get it all off. Plus it's all in your clothes. Can they be around bloody clothes?"

"I don't know," I replied. "But I feel better. I can stand, I think." I fully sat up, using the tree for support. My knees were wobbly as I stood, but after a few seconds I was steady.

Clark approached Rosalie and Edward. "Is there a river or something around here? The blood is caked in her hair and stuff."

Edward brushed a hand through his hair, "Uh, yeah. Sure. I think we ran along a river for a little while earlier. We can go back."

We had to walk back to the river, seeing as how the only one not wanting to kill me at the moment was Clark, and he wasn't strong enough to carry me. We passed by the naked bodies of two dead men. I assumed them to be the werewolves returned to their human form. Rosalie and Edward walked about twenty yards ahead of us. "Do you know much about vampires, Clark?" I asked.

Clark shrugged, "I know what I've seen in movies. My mom taught me how to spot them so I would know when to run away. But I don't really know anything else, if there's anything to know. Like I didn't know vampire blood could heal people. I didn't even know they had blood."

"Same here," I said. "But it worked. I feel perfectly fine."

When we reached the river, Edward and Clark hung back so as to afford me my privacy. Rosalie, somehow more resistant to my blood than Edward, sat on the riverbank, staring at the water as I peeled the blood-dried clothes from my body. I put them in the water and rubbed them against some rocks along the bank, hoping to get out the blood.

"So how come you can be around blood more easily than Edward?" I asked as I was bent over my shorts, dipping them in the water.

Rosalie didn't look at me and shrugged, "Maybe because I get to have blood whenever I want it. It's not a rare treat for me like it is for him. I know that I'll have plenty of blood later."

I nodded and continued about attempting to get the blood out of my clothes. "Can I ask you another question?"

"I can't see me stopping you."

"Obviously, you don't like me. Which is fine. But you've saved my life twice now. Why bother?"

"It's not for your benefit, believe me," Rosalie laid down on the grass with her hands behind her head.

"Then who's benefit is it for?" I pressed.

"Who's do you think?"

I didn't reply. I would have guessed Edward, but I didn't want to just make the assumption that my life really meant that much to him. "I don't know."

"Edward would lose his mind if something happened to you as a result of you being involved in our world. He would never stop blaming himself. And I care about him too much to watch that happen to him. So I'd save you from a werewolf. But if you stepped out in front of a car, well, that's all on you," Rosalie inhaled. She said it all so plainly, without even a hint of malice. She wasn't saying any of this to be mean. She was saying it to be honest.

I furrowed my brow, not sure what to make of this. I knew Edward cared about me, and Alice, too, but I did not know that he cared about me to such an extent. So I slightly changed the topic. "So why don't you live like Edward? Human blood-free, I mean."

"I care about Edward, but I don't have any delusions about what I am. When I'm around you, or any other human or creature, all I can think about is how different I am from you. I don't identify with humans anymore. I can't. But Edward- When he's around humans, all he sees is how similar he is to them. Well, maybe not similar, but he definitely identifies with them more than he does vampires. The only thing vampire-like about Edward is his immortality. Then I guess there's the mind reading and the super speed, but still," Rosalie replied, "Don't get me wrong. I'd love to be human again. But I won't ever be, and I'm not going to go around pretending I am."

"When were you a human?"

"A long time ago," Rosalie sat up, "Are you almost done? We are on a mission, you know."

The shorts and t-shirt were still wet, but were fairly blood-free. I jumped in the water and scrubbed my hair and skin, getting out the dried flakes of blood. I climbed back out and put on the wet clothes. "I'm done now," I said to Rosalie.

Rosalie and I started our walk back to where we had left Clark and Edward. I wondered if she had feelings for Edward. She had saved my life for him, twice. She was going through this entire ordeal for him, when she could have easily dismissed it, and he would have completely understood. And why wouldn't she have feelings for him? Edward was quite a catch for anyone- vampire or human. They would've made a gorgeous couple.

And then I felt it again. That dull but strong feeling in my chest- Jealousy. I had began to develop feelings for Edward before this whole thing started, even before Carlisle broke things off. Then when Carlisle did break things off and when Alice went missing and when Edward revealed the small fact that he was a vampire- Well, such feelings were put on the back burner for obvious reasons. But things were changing now. I was getting used to being around Edward as Edward the vampire. Alice was still missing, but we had a plan of action to get her back. And I still cared about Carlisle. How couldn't I? I had been with him for awhile. Feelings just don't disappear overnight. I wondered if Carlisle was worried about me. I wondered if he even realized I was missing. But regardless of the fact that I still cared about Carlisle, there had been the sense that our romance, affair, whatever it was considered, was winding down and reaching it's end before he and Esme informed me that I would no longer be welcome.

I had realized that the end was near for a variety of reasons, but one of the biggest reasons was my connection with Edward. I felt a natural spark between myself and Edward that I had not felt with Carlisle. I cared about Carlisle, he needed me. And I always felt like Edward needed me, too, but in a different way. Carlisle needed me as an emotional crutch to deal with the death of his only child and the subsequent failing of his marriage. Edward had seemed to need me to protect him, which I know knew to be false. He did not need protection from anything, and from the rare things he did need protection, well they were out of my league. But nonetheless, I still felt like Edward needed me, even now. I just was not sure why. And there was the fact that I felt like _I needed him. _It wasn't a biological need- I wouldn't die without Edward. But I _wanted_ him, in any capacity. I needed him satisfy my want.

"Did you and Edward ever, you know," I said, "Date? Do vampires date?"

"No. We've never dated. Vampires don't date. They fuck."

"How romantic," I dryly replied. "Wait, does that mean you and Edward...?"

Rosalie actually laughed, "Never. Edward doesn't really...Well, it's not an often occurrence. I think it has something to do with being able to read minds. I mean, it would be so distracting to have to hear the other person's thoughts during sex, wouldn't it?"

I shrugged, the idea never having crossed my mind. But the more I thought about it, the more awkward it would probably be for all parties involved. "So Edward doesn't ever...Do it?" I asked. I couldn't believe I was having a conversation about Edward's sex life with Rosalie- Of all people.

"Maybe you should talk to Edward about all of this. It's not really my place," Rosalie said, bringing an end to the vampire sex talk.

"How did you get that cut under your eye earlier? And now it's gone," I said, inspecting Rosalie's face, "I thought your skin couldn't be broken."

"Not by humans, but supernatural creatures, bewitched objects- They can all do the trick. But it healed...Vampires are pretty fast healers."

We came to the spot where we left Edward and Clark, only Edward and Clark were gone. "Edward! Clark!" I called as I ran a stick along the trees. "I wonder where they went." I looked down at the ground, making sure not to trip over any tree roots.

Suddenly there was something sharp poking me in my chest. I looked up to see a blonde girl pointing an arrow against me. She looked me in the eye and seemed surprise. "A human?"

Rosalie immediately made a break for it, but she was too slow. The girl moved her arrow from my chest and pointed it at Rosalie. It hit her in the back and sank into her skin. Rosalie stumbled and fell to the ground. The girl did not make a move towards Rosalie, and instead grabbed my wrist and pulled me along with her. A tall and bulky man retrieved Rosalie. He took some sort of rope and bound her legs and arms with it. He threw her over his shoulder, and walked towards me and the blonde girl.

They escorted me through the forest for a few minutes, until we came to a small clearing. Waiting for us was Clark, sitting on a tree stump.

And lying on the ground next to him was Edward, tied up, and that dark purple blood flowing from his neck.

**A/N: Hmm, not really anything to say today. Hah. So just reviewwwwww :)**


	25. Chapter 25

I awoke with a start. There was an unfamiliar sensation running through my body. After a few seconds, I remembered it to be pain. I hadn't felt pain since my transformation nearly a hundred years ago.

But this wasn't a burning, fiery pain like my transformation. No, this was dull and aching, like an old wound.

"Edward!" I heard Bella's voice call my name, and I immediately felt her warm arms embrace me.

Something didn't make sense. My eyes were open, but I could not see. I was in total darkness. "Bella?" I said haggardly. "Are we in a dark room?"

Bella seemed to pause before answering, "No. I mean, it's not the brightest of rooms, but I can see you. There's a window above us. Light's coming in from that. The sun is going down."

The sun was going down? The last thing I remembered was being in the forest with Clark, waiting for Rosalie and Bella. "How long have I been out of it?" I sat up and leaned against whatever was behind me.

"About two days. Rosalie is still...Comatose. They say she's alive, but how do they even know? I mean, vampires are dead to begin with. It's not like there are any life signs they can check," Bella said, the worry evident in her voice, "I was so worried about you, Edward. I thought you were dead. Like I said, there wasn't really a way I could check to make sure you were still alive." I felt her hands holding mine. "They took Clark somewhere else. I don't know what they've done with him."

"Bella," I inhaled, "I can't see."

"What? Like anything at all?"

"Nothing," I shook my head. "What have they done to me?"

"I don't know. They haven't touched you or Rosalie since they brought us here, at least not while I'm awake. Once I thought I heard the door close while I was sleeping, but when I woke up, there was no one. They've given me food, but they've just shoved it through the bars."

"Can you describe where we are?" I asked. If I could at least have an idea as to where we were, it would help me feel more sure.

"Um, okay," Bella seemed to be thinking of how to describe our surroundings. "Well, we're in a basement. Actually, basement is kinda an understatement. If anything it's more like a dungeon. Stone walls, stone floors, there's a window about twenty feet above us. It's slightly like a jail cell, too, the doors...Well they're bars. But they're made of silver. Or at least it looks like silver. I don't know." I heard Bella's voice slightly crack. Her hand was still in mine, so I squeezed it and ran my thumb over hers.

"Well, it seems we stumbled upon some full-fledged hunters," I sighed. "Guess we can thank your friend Clark for that."

"We don't know that for sure," Bella said quietly.

"No, but the chances of us just happening upon a half-hunter child and then being captured by hunters within twenty-four hours are a bit slim."

"Stranger things have happened."

I shrugged my shoulders. With the loss of my sight, my already sharp senses were even more heightened. I could smell the river on Bella's skin. The blood beneath that skin smelled even more strongly than usual. Her heartbeat roared in my ears. The touch of her skin felt feverishly hot.

"How did they get you?" Bella asked. I felt her brush a bit of hair from my face.

"I...I don't remember. One minute, Clark and I were just waiting for you and Rosalie, and the next...Here I am with you. How did they get you two?"

"We were on our way back from the river. They shot Rosalie and then took us to you. The hunters- There's two, a man and a girl. The man carried you and Rosalie, while the girl carried me. Clark," Bella paused, as if her next statement would confirm my suspicions about Clark, "ran with them. We ran for maybe a half hour, I think. I couldn't really keep track of time. They brought us here, and took Clark with them."

I was quietly tallying up our position.

Rosalie was out cold, I was blind, we were being held by hunters in what was essentially a vampire-proof cage. I could not see this ending well.

"I'm sure the blindness is just temporary," Bella said hopefully, "It has to be."

"It probably is. But even when I can see again, I doubt we'll be able to get out of here. They're not going to let Rosalie or me walk out of here alive."

"They didn't let you in here alive, so it only makes sense," Bella teased. I could imagine the smile across her lips. It brought a smile to my own face. She was cuddled up next to me. "Is this okay?" she asked.

"It's perfect."

We sat in the quiet for a few minutes. "We're going to die in here, aren't we?" Bella asked. She didn't seem afraid. She asked it in a very 'matter of fact' tone, almost as if it didn't matter to her. "I mean, I'm caged with two vampires. We stay in here long enough, and one or both of you are going to kill me. And then they'll kill the both of you."

"Don't say things like that," I said, the thought of either Rosalie or myself killing Bella made my stomach churn. But at the same time, it brought a surge of venom to my mouth. "I would have them kill me before I ever hurt you."

"How sweet," a feminine voice I did not recognize said from a few feet away. I heard a door open and soft footsteps against the stone floor. "So you're finally awake. Did you rest well? I know you bloodsuckers don't get much sleep."

I didn't reply. The steps grew closer to us, and suddenly the warmth of Bella's body against mine disappeared. I heard Bella give out a quick cry before a thud. "Don't touch her!" I demanded.

"Or what? You're not in the position to be barking out commands," the voice said. The girl inhaled deeply and slowly before giving a quick and short exhale of breath. "Alright. I'm going to need your names."

"Why?" Bella asked, her voice coming from farther away now. Apparently the girl had thrown her.

"Because if you don't tell us your names, I'm going to kill you immediately. This buys you a few days. Although, I might kill you immediately even if you do tell me your names. I'm looking for specific names here, so you better hope you're who we think you are."

"I'm Edward. The blonde one is Rosalie," I said, suddenly hoping we were the vampires for whom she was searching.

"Oh my god. You're still blind, aren't you?" the girl asked. Then after a few seconds began to laugh. "That must've been some strong stuff. Well, I'll have to get you the antidote to that. It wouldn't be as much if you can't see all the bodily pain we inflict upon your friends, would it? Hm. Or maybe it would be better if all you had were the screams and your imagination. I'll have to ask Finn," the girl seemed to talking to herself now. "Well, anyway. I was just here to check up on you. Seems like Blondie over there is having a harder time with it all. I'll be back later, maybe she'll be awake by then."

I heard the bars slam shut and the girl walk away. Bella was immediately by my side. "Are you alright?" she asked, holding first my face in her hands, then my shoulders, then forearms.

I laughed, "She didn't even touch me, Bella. Are you okay, though? She practically threw you across the room."

"Oh, I'm fine. Besides, don't hunters have a thing about killing humans? As in they frown upon it?"

I shrugged, "I've never met a hunter, so I don't really know."

Bella was quiet for a minute. "Edward, if you end up killing me, I understand."

"Bella," I said angrily, "Please don't say things like that." I didn't want to hear her say things like that for two reasons. One, I didn't want to kill her. And two, while I would trying to keep from killing her, I would remember her saying that, and would use it as an excuse to do exactly as I please. I would take her words and use them to validate what I wanted to do to her.

"I just don't want you to feel bad, if it happens. Rosalie told me how if something happened to me because of you or things related to your world that you'd blame yourself. So I'm telling you now, if something does happen to me...Just remember I've chosen to be here. I chose to come with you and Rosalie, so don't ever put that on yourself...I mean, if I hadn't had to go my professor's apartment, we would've been there when Jasper was there. We could've stopped him."

I almost laughed, "Maybe." I let a few seconds of quiet pass between us. "Bella, why did you never tell me about your professor?"

Bella didn't respond immediately. "What do you mean? What is there to tell?"

"I followed you up to your professor's apartment," I confessed. "You were acting strange in the cab, I wanted to know what was up. So I went up the stairs and listened from the other side of the door. I know about the affair or whatever it was."

"Well...This is...Embarrassing," Bella awkwardly said. "I guess I never told you because, well, I'd never told anyone. It's not exactly the kind of thing you go around telling people. It's not like I was proud of it."

"I'll admit, it was a little...Devastating. I had you up on this pedestal. Like the night we met on the street, when you were practically at death's doorstep, I looked into your eyes and, I don't know. It sounds so trite, but there just seemed to be this purity and...Innocence to you. Like you weren't scared, and you looked at me like...Like you knew I could stop myself from hurting you. You had faith in me without even knowing me. Then I got to know you, and you still seemed like this perfect creature. Then I found out about you and your professor, and it was like reality slapped me in the face."

Bella laughed, "It's funny how very far from reality our perceptions of each other fell. You thought I was some virginal school girl, and I thought you were the victim of gang bullying. I thought I could save you." She laughed to herself again.

"You have saved me."

Silence was Bella's response. Maybe what I had said was too much, too over the top. But it was how I felt about her. Being around her made me feel truly alive again.

Just as I was about to switch the topic of conversation, I felt Bella's warm lips gently graze my own. She pulled back, if only for a second, before kissing me again, but this time more assuredly and intensely.

"Oh, my head," I heard Rosalie groan from the other side of the room.

Bella immediately pulled away from me and wordlessly went to attend to Rosalie.

My lips felt like they were on fire.

**A/N: Woopwoop, kissing :P Thanks for the reviews :) I didn't have my beta read over this, cause tomorrow night my best friend is coming in for the weekend, so if I didn't update tonight, I wouldn't update until Tuesday, so I figured I'd just put this up. :) I've actually already started with Chapter 26...So the next update should probably be around Tuesday-ish :) So yeah, if there are too many typos...Sorry, I read over it a few times, but Lord knows if I caught them all :| Anywho. REVIEW :D q**


	26. Chapter 26

"What about me?" I asked as I watched the man who had carried Rosalie and Edward throw them into what appeared to be a prison cell.

"What about you?" the man said, his voice deep and husky.

"Where am I going to go?"

"Wherever you want. We're not concerned with you."

I thought about the prospect of leaving Edward and Rosalie here in the care of these...People. I couldn't. Even if I wanted to leave them, Alice was still missing, and it wasn't like traditional law enforcement would be able to find her, and if by some miracle they did, I was pretty sure Jasper and his friends would kill them. Rosalie and Edward were my only hope of finding her now.

"I'm not leaving them," I spoke up. The man turned to look at me and seemed surprised. His build alone was intimidating, but his stare made me want to crawl inside myself and disappear. "They're my friends."

"Friends, huh?" the girl stood behind me. She opened the bars to the cell. "Well, we'll see how friendly they are when they're starving for human blood and you're the only human around," she pushed me inside and slammed the bars shut. "Have fun with that."

Clark stood silently behind the man. I looked at him. Had Edward been right? "Clark? Did you do this?" I asked.

"Don't speak to him," the blonde girl snapped and pushed Clark towards the exit. Clark did not make eye contact with me as he left.

I turned to look at Edward and Rosalie. They were both passed out. At least, I hoped they were just passed out, not dead. Then again, if they were dead, I doubted the man and girl would have bothered with putting them in here.

First I went to check on Edward. The wound in his throat had healed. His hands and feet were still bound by some thin strips of a metallic, silvery-looking string. "Edward?" I said, slightly shaking his shoulder. I placed my ear on his chest, vainly searching for a heartbeat. Silence. I untied the silver strips around his limbs. I then discovered that the silver was not just tied around his wrists, but had burned itself into his skin. I had to peel the string off of him. "Edward" I said again. "Are you okay? Can you hear me?" I hoped for an answer, but received none.

I sighed and turned to Rosalie. The arrow the blonde girl had shot her with was still lodged in her back. The wound had healed around it, so that now the arrow was almost an extension of Rosalie's body. I decided I should take it out, seeing as whatever the arrow had been tipped with is what caused Rosalie to go down, and I couldn't see what damage it could do to her. So I pulled out the arrow and tried to keep myself from gagging as I felt her flesh tear as the arrow broke away from the graphed-on skin. The sound of it was also fairly nauseating. I unbound her hands and feet as well.

I sat on the floor, watching Rosalie's wound slowly close up until it was as if it was never there to begin with.

The sun came up. There was no change regarding Rosalie or Edward's conditions. The sun set. I was lying on the floor next to Edward. I watched his form for any movement, no matter how small.

"Here's your food," the man from earlier slid a small plate of food on the ground through the bars.

"What have you done to them? Why aren't they awake yet?" I sat up and asked.

"Nothing too bad. They're 'alive,' if you could call them that."

"They're not bad vampires," I argued. "He doesn't even drink human blood."

"Of course he doesn't," he sarcastically replied. "None of them ever do."

"They're helping me find my best friend. She was kidnapped by vampires."

"Then your friend is dead. Accept the fact, move on. I'm willing to give you another chance to get out of here...What's your name?"

"My name is Bella," I replied, "And I'm not leaving them. They're my friends."

"Suit yourself," the man rolled his eyes and left.

The food he had given me was surprisingly good. But I had no appetite for it. Every minute Edward, and even Rosalie, didn't wake up, my worry grew and hope diminished.

Another day went by, and there was still no change in their condition. I was beginning to think they were dead...Like, dead-dead.

It was the end of the second day when I was lying next to Edward, my back against his. I was about to fall asleep- That's all there was to do in this cell. But I felt Edward suddenly move with a jerk. I immediately sat up and threw my arms around him. "Edward!"

"Bella?" his voice was worn, quite different from how smooth it typically was. "Are we in a dark room?"

I furrowed my brow, " No. I mean, it's not the brightest of rooms, but I can see you. There's a window above us. Light's coming in from that. The sun is going down."

"How long have I been out of it?" Edward felt the floor around him and scooted himself to a sitting position against the wall. I informed him of how many days had passed, Rosalie's status, and how worried I was about him. "Bella, I can't see."

"What? Like anything at all?" I asked. His eyes were open, his pupils were large, but I attributed that to the fact that it was getting dark in the cell.

He shook his head, "Nothing. What have they done to me?"

I didn't know. I hadn't seen them do anything violent to either Edward or Rosalie since I had seen the blonde one shoot Rosalie in the back. I described the cell to Edward, and we talked about how he had been captured, although Edward didn't seem to remember much of it. I sat cuddled up next to him, one arm behind his back, the other across his abs. He rested his head atop of mine and we sat like that in silence for a bit.

Edward was alive- Blind, but alive. My joy was cut short by the fact that he and Rosalie were both vampires. Vampires with whom I was locked in a cage. I doubted that the hunters were going to give them humans or even animals to eat. Eventually, Edward and Rosalie would get hungry. And I...Well, I would probably not be around much longer after that. And then the hunters would probably kill both of them. And that would be the end. We'd never find Alice. I'd never see Jacob or my parents again.

Jacob. My heart ached at the thought of him. He was probably going crazy with worry. I never left him out of the loop. And now I had just gone and disappeared. I hoped that somehow he would just know I was okay. Except...I wasn't okay. I was locked in a cage and would eventually be killed. So I hoped that Jacob would somehow know that I was...At peace with it. He had been there for me practically for my entire life. I didn't know where I would have ended up had it not been for him. An image of me and Evan Jenkins, my senior boyfriend when I was sixteen, having an argument while I had a baby on my hips sashayed through my mind, and I knew I owed Jacob a lot. That so easily could have been my life had he not provided me an out. Maybe death by vampire wasn't exactly the life I had dreamed of, but at least it was more exciting and interesting than what Evan Jenkins would have bullied me into. Couldn't I have thought to at least give Jacob a goddamn phone call when we had been near a phone earlier?

Or even to call my parents? They were never the worrying kind, but I knew they had to be worried by now. Maybe I hadn't called because the idea of Rosalie and Edward not finding Alice was just foreign to me. Even before I knew what Edward was, I had so much faith in him. If he said he would get Alice back, he would do just that. I had only expected to be gone a week, max. I mean, with how fast Edward and Rosalie could run, it couldn't take us very long to get anywhere. So a week missing, that could easily be explained away. But I now had the sneaking suspicion that I would be missing a lot longer, possibly- probably- forever. In retrospect, I had been incredibly stupid. Who on earth goes on a trip with fucking vampires and expects to be back within a week?

"We're going to die in here, aren't we?" I asked Edward calmly, already beginning to accept my fate. "I mean, I'm caged with two vampires. We stay in here long enough, and one or both of you are going to kill me. And then they'll kill the both of you."

Edward did not react well to such a statement, but his displeasure was cut short by the female hunter interrupting our conversation. She saw that only Edward had recovered from his wounds, and said she would return when Rosalie was awake. Once she left, Edward and I returned to our conversation.

"I just don't want you to feel bad, if it happens. Rosalie told me how if something happened to me because of you or things related to your world that you'd blame yourself. So I'm telling you now, if something does happen to me...Just remember I've chosen to be here. I chose to come with you and Rosalie, so don't ever put that on yourself...I mean, if I hadn't had to go my professor's apartment, we would've been there when Jasper was there. We could've stopped him," I said, regret seeping through my voice.

It was then that Edward revealed that he knew about Carlisle. I was somewhat glad Edward was temporarily blinded as the blood crept to my cheeks. This was humiliating. When my affair with Carlisle was in my head, a secret, it had this romantic, forbidden element and feeling to it. It felt like Carlisle and I against the world, the world plotting to keep us apart. My relationship with him made me feel like our feelings for each other were pure- Above societal standards and without the need for approval. I had quite romanticized the situation in my head. But hearing Edward say he knew about the affair aloud, it sounded so ugly. So base and vulgar. I suddenly felt ill hearing the word 'affair' as it flowed from his lips.

As Edward went on to describe the girl he thought I was versus the girl I actually was, I felt horrible. I felt like I had failed him. And for some reason, I felt like Edward had been let down a lot in his life. I did not want my name on that list of disappointments. But he was right on one thing: I did have faith in him. I trusted him almost implicitly.

The air was heavy between us. I faked a laugh, "It's funny how very far from reality our perceptions of each other fell. You thought I was some virginal school girl, and I thought you were the victim of gang bullying. I thought I could save you."

"You have saved me."

I didn't know what to say. It was so simple. It wasn't some huge declaration of love or undying devotion. It was subtle and somehow meant more than if he had made some huge show about it. I looked at Edward in the now moonlit cell. He looked haggard and worn, yet somehow that made him all the more attractive to me in that moment. Maybe because I knew the only reason he looked like that was because of me, because he was on this journey to find my friend. His tired appearance was a product of his selflessness, and it was incredibly beautiful.

I tilted my head up and kissed Edward. I didn't really even think about it. His lips were actually warm, which I attributed to the sweltering heat of the cell. I pulled back for a moment, trying to decide if I really wanted to take this there- To that place where I could not just play this off as a friendly kiss.

I wanted to.

I kissed him more fiercely. I still held back slightly, but there was no way he could interpret this as an act of friendship. Just as I felt his hands press against my back, pulling me closer into him, and as he became more active in this kiss, Rosalie woke up. There was a sinking feeling in my chest, and I quickly pulled away. I stood up and went to Rosalie, my chest still pounding.

Her back had been facing us, so thankfully she had not seen our brief display of affection. I knelt down next to her, "Can you see, Rosalie?" I asked as I helped her to sit up.

She looked at me and blinked, "Yes, I can see you," she replied, still slightly woozy. "Where...Where am I?"

I explained the situation to Rosalie, who seemed to be more in a fighting spirit than Edward. But perhaps that was because she had her vision. It was easier to be gung-ho about escaping when you could actually see to do so.

She immediately walked to the bars and grabbed a hold of them, only to scream out in pain. "Shit, shit shit!" she pulled her hands away and shook them, as if that would make the pain subside sooner.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Silver. Vampires...We don't deal well with silver."

"I thought that was a werewolf thing," I was confused.

"No...It's both. Werewolves and vampires are damned, marked, cursed, whatever you want to call us. Silver is pure, holy. It burns us."

"So that's why they tied you up with silver string."

Rosalie looked down at her wrists. "So they did. Ugh, it'll take decades for these scars to fade."

"I don't see anything."

"You're human. You don't see a lot of things," Rosalie rolled her eyes.

"Rose," Edward called, "Do you see any other way of getting out?"

Rosalie pushed on the stone walls. She climbed up to the window, which was barred off with silver as well. "Well, we're underground. So, even if we were able to get punch down the walls, which we can't...I'm pretty sure they're under a spell, we'd have to dig like twenty feet through dirt up to the earth. And the window is barred with silver. And the bars to get out of the cell are silver. This is pretty solid."

Rosalie sat on the floor a few feet from Edward. "Hopefully you've already told her that this can only be Clark's fault," she said to him as she glanced at me. I leaned against the bars of the cell and rolled my eyes. I wasn't ready to give up hope on Clark just yet.

"Back!" the man from earlier barked at me as he and the girl returned.

For some reason, I was feeling less afraid of the man than I had earlier. Maybe it was because now I faced him with an awake-Rosalie and Edward. And even though I knew they were practically powerless against him, just having them there and conscious made me feel better. However, the girl still gave me the creeps. She was beautiful. She had shoulder-length blonde hair and big grey eyes. Had I passed her on the street, I might have called her childish looking. But here, she seemed menacing and her childish look only made her appear more disturbed.

I looked at Rosalie, who now sat closer to Edward. Seeing Rosalie afraid of something was strange and put me on edge.

"Fix his eyes," the man, who I remembered the girl had called 'Finn' earlier, said. The girl complied, albeit unhappily. She leaned over Edward and rubbed some sort of muddy looking substance over his eyes.

"What is that?" I asked, bewildered. "And what made him blind in the first place?"

The girl did not reply, instead she just looked at me fiercely, shoving me with her shoulder as she walked by me and took her place back with Finn.

Edward rubbed the mud from his face and blinked. "I can see," he said. My heart leapt when his eyes landed on mine.

Finn then approached Rosalie. She tried to push him away, but he didn't budge. He held both her wrists in one hand. He lifted her a few feet off the ground and secured her wrists in a pair of manacles. Silver manacles. I could hear a sizzling sound as the silver wrapped around her skin. Rosalie's shrieks were so high that I had to cover my ears. I could not stand to hear it.

Edward, realizing what was about to happen to him as well, began looking around for a way to escape or at least evade them, but the girl did the same to him as Finn had done to Rosalie. Edward's screams were not high like Rosalie's, but they hurt my ears all the same, albeit for a completely different reason.

"Stop it! You're hurting him!" I pulled on the girl's arm, only to be cast off like a bug.

She turned to me, "Don't think just because you're a human that I'll be easy on you."

"Evangeline!" Finn said admonishingly. He looked at Rosalie and Edward, both their bodies thrashing about in pain as they hung from the silver chains. He seemed pleased by his handiwork. "We'll be back in a few hours."

Those next few hours were the longest hours I'd experienced in a while. The scent of burnt flesh lingered in the cell. Rosalie and Edward's screams were constant. I covered my ears to try to escape the noise, but it was useless. I desperately wished they could fall asleep. I found myself wishing that Evangeline, as she was called, and Finn would come back and knock them out again- Both for their sake and my own. They were in what appeared to be unspeakable and unrelenting pain.

When Evangeline returned, she let both of them out of their chains. They sank to the floor, their breathing hard. Their screams turned to painful moans. The moans became whimpers. And the whimpers died out into silence.

I looked at Rosalie and Edward's exhausted figures as they were slumped on the ground. Any hope of them getting us out of here died. But a new thought began to form in my brain. I could not stand to see them in this kind of pain any longer. I had to do something. The worst that I could do would be to fail, which meant never finding Alice, Rosalie and Edward's death, and perhaps even my own. But to never try anything at all would mean the same.

I would save Edward and Rosalie.

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews everyone, they make me feel happy inside. And they make me feel like writing more, lol. Anyways, I'm in class right now, so...This won't be too long. Sorry for any typos...I didn't have my beta go over this..Eek. Anywho..Review bbs ;)**


	27. Chapter 27

The pain was finally subsiding from what had become our regular torture sessions, courtesy of the vampire hunters known as Finn and Evangeline. I looked at Rosalie, who sat motionless on the stone floor. She was silent and stared straight ahead into the space before her. Our time in this cell seemed to be taking a toll on her mentally, which was understandable.

Bella sat away from us, as I had suggested to her. We had been in here for a week and a half now. I could probably go another week without feeding. I didn't know how long it would be for Rosalie. But all the same, I was hungry, I could not deny it. I didn't want Bella anywhere near me, but at the same time, that's all I wanted. It was the only thing that could have made this situation even remotely tolerable, but I couldn't even have that.

Bella looked at me from across the cell. There were dark circles under her eyes. She rarely slept. I assumed she wanted to, but the hardness of the floor, plus the unbearable heat, plus mine and Rosalie's screaming did not make for the most sleep-conducive of environments. Her hair stuck to her face in some places, matted down with sweat. I felt horrible that I had gotten her involved in this. Rosalie had been right, we should have left her in Chicago.

For the past few days, Bella seemed detached. Maybe she was starting to regret all of this. I would have understood it. Hell, _I_ was regretting all of this.

I closed my eyes for a few moments. When I opened them back up, Bella was standing in front of me. I smiled.

"Your eyes are black," she said, holding my jaw in her hands so that she tilted my head up. "When was the last time you ate?"

"A few days before we were put in here...Twelve days ago?" I tried to remember back to my last meal.

Bella thought to herself for a minute before looking at Rosalie. "What about you, Rosalie? When was the last time you had anything?"

"I think you mean 'anyone,'" she dryly replied. "And it's been twelve days for me as well."

Bella stood with a hand on her hip as she bit her nails, a new habit she had picked up in the past few days. "How much longer do you think you all can last before you look at me and just see a giant hamburger?"

I rose an eyebrow, "What?"

"Like in the old cartoons..When characters were hungry and they'd see people as food rather than people?"

"Bella, I don't know what you're talking about."

"Fine. What I mean is, how much longer can you all go without food?"

"I've got about another week. Rose?"

"Maybe that long. Probably less." Her voice was flat. "But just so you know, I am putting in a...Concerted effort to not kill you," Rosalie glanced at Bella.

"Well," Bella didn't seem to know what to say, "Thank you...For that."

"You're welcome. Now, if you don't mind, please don't ask me anymore questions. I'm trying not to breathe so I don't have to smell your blood, and the action of speaking requires breathing, so the more you ask of me, the more time is possibly shaved off your life."

"Rosalie," I looked at her. I didn't want her to scare Bella beyond what she probably already was. Although Bella hadn't seemed scared in a long time. She appeared to have steadily grown accustomed to everything around her, more stoic.

"Edward, can I sit with you? Just for a little while. You don't have to talk if you think it'll cause trouble," Bella asked.

I briefly thought about it. I could do it. I wasn't nearly hungry enough to kill her yet. There was the nagging voice in the back of my head that said it was a bad idea, but I ignored it. "Yeah, that's fine," I sat up straighter against the wall as Bella took a place next to me.

Our first kiss had thus far been our only kiss. We hadn't really had time to discuss it or repeat it, since I was usually in no physical or mental state for romance. Plus, we had no privacy with Rosalie always been a few feet away, hearing everything we said. But regardless, I played it over in my mind again and again. The way Bella's lips felt against mine, the way she felt as I held her body against me. I wanted it again. I wanted to actually be able to see the look in Bella's eyes before and after.

Bella sat next to me, cuddling into me as if I were some sort of blanket. "I'm going to close my eyes. Tell me if you hear them coming so I can get up...I think the sight of us together would just make them angrier." I nodded and pulled her more tightly towards myself. I heard her breathing steady. I looked down to see Bella actually sleeping. I kissed her on the forehead. Even though she was right next to me, she felt a million miles away.

_God, I wish you two could get your own little cell. The sexual tension is getting to be a little much for me. I have enough to deal with without having to pretend I'm not noticing you two having eye sex from across the room, _Rosalie looked at me and shook her head.

"Rosalie," I rolled my eyes, "You're exaggerating. When exactly would I have time to flirt or do whatever it is you're accusing me of? Twelve of the twenty four hours of the day, I'm in searing pain, eight more I'm in some sort of coma type state, and the other four leave me with regaining my strength and actually feeling normal."

_I'm pretty sure if I were not in here, she would not be sleeping. And you wouldn't be kissing just her forehead._

"What do you want me to say to that?"

_I don't know. I guess I'm just trying to get my mind off listening to them train that fucking kid up there._

I nodded. We could hear them training Clark on the floor above us. I was in and out of consciousness too often to really know the full story behind Clark and his relationship with Finn and Evangeline, but I knew where they stood now. Clark was fully embracing what he was, and Evangeline couldn't have been more thrilled. Finn did not seem to care one way or the other. I heard them sometimes arguing about something, but most of the time my mind was too foggy to register what was being said.

As the hours passed with Bella in my arms, I wondered where Finn and Evangeline were. It seemed like they were running late. I wasn't complaining, though. Who knew how much time I had left. They would finish me off eventually. At least Bella would be free then. I hoped.

_They're coming down here. You might want to wake Bella._

"Bella?" I slightly shook her. Her eyes fluttered open, bright with expectation. But upon remembering her surroundings, they went flat with the knowledge of reality. "Get up, they're coming."

Bella hurriedly but groggily got up and headed for her end of the cell. But half way to her spot, she turned around, came back, and kissed me. It was a quick kiss, but despite that fact, there was passion behind it. She looked at me and bit her lip before giving me a weak smile. She ran to her spot and sat down.

"Well look who's up," Evangeline seemed happy to see Rosalie and myself awake- But only for the simple reason that it meant we would be conscious of the pain she was about to inflict upon us.

"I want out of here," Bella stood up and held onto the cell doors as Evangeline went about unlocking them. "They're going to kill me!"

My eyes widened. What was going on? Finn and Evangeline looked me and then at Rosalie, who looked equally surprised to hear Bella's plea. "We told you that when you got here, but you said they were your friends, and you didn't want to leave them alone."

This also came as a surprise to me. Bella had been in this cell for the past week and a half by her own volition? She had been so miserable. "Bella, why didn't you get out of here when you had the chance?" I asked, horrified.

She paused, but barely. I was probably the only one to notice her hesitation. "Because I was stupid. I didn't think this thing through. Please," she turned back to Evangeline, "Please let me go. They haven't eaten in days, they're starving. They're going to kill me!"

Finn and Evangeline exchanged looks. I could not read their minds, but I could tell they did not trust Bella. But at the same time, they knew what she was saying was true. Rosalie and I would eventually need something to eat. And Bella, being the only human, would be that something we needed.

"Please! I'm begging you! Let me out of here!" Bella's voice started to crack. She was crying. She really was scared of us. I don't think I'd ever felt more like a monster than in that moment. There was a rush of anger through my veins. Anger at myself that somehow manifested itself as anger towards Bella.

"No! You're not leaving me! Don't you trust me?" I said suddenly, angrily. I didn't even know where the words were coming from. It didn't seem like something I would say. I had never been angry with Bella, never snapped at her. Why would she trust me? I'd told her time and time again not to, but here I was, angry that she thought I would hurt her. I stood up and started towards her, but soon enough Finn stood between us. He shoved me back to the floor.

"Calm down, bloodsucker," Finn scowled at me. "Christ."

He looked at Bella. She was being held by Evangeline. "I guess we do have a job...As hunters...To save human life. To keep her down here would be unethical."

"So you'll let me go?" Bella asked, her voice full of hope for the first time in a long time.

Finn seemed to think for a minute. "Do you have a problem with it, Eva?"

Evangeline looked down at Bella. "I guess not."

And with that, Evangeline escorted Bella out of the cell.

"Bella!" I stood to my feet and yelled. I tried to run for her, but Finn held me back. "Bella!"

Bella looked over her shoulder as she walked away. "I'm sorry, Edward," she said quietly- Too soft for anyone but a vampire to hear.

I then felt a stinging pain across my cheek as Finn whipped me in the face. I fell back to the floor. This pain was different from the burn of the silver, and I wondered what new torture material Finn had discovered.

Rosalie, too weak from the torture and lack of food to do anything other than sit there, drew her knees to her chest and laid her head on her them. _Please don't hit me, please don't hit me, please don't hit me_, she repeated in her head. Seeing Rosalie- Fiery, determined Rosalie- Curled up into a ball begging...It broke me.

"Please don't hurt her," I looked up at Finn. Finn looked at me, and I suppose he was feeling generous, because he backed away from Rosalie. He leaned against the bars of the cell as he was apparently waiting for Evangeline to return. Without Bella.

I was going to die in this cell. I wondered what all this had been for. What had been the point of continuing life as a vampire if I would just one day die anyway? I had not achieved anything truly worth the hundred years of misery. I had met Bella, but she was gone now. Had the few months we had known each other been worth the century I had gone without her? Were those fleeting moments between us a fair exchange for all the time I had spent wandering the earth alone and denying myself everything I wanted?

They were. They _had_ to be. I _needed_ them to be.

After a good ten to fifteen minutes had passed, Evangeline returned alone. She walked softly. Finn certainly couldn't hear her, and if he had, he gave no indication of the fact. He just continued leaning against the bars, looking to be lost in thought. He didn't pay either me or Rosalie much attention...He knew we were too weak to do much damage, and even if we tried, he would be able to defend himself.

What I saw next was so bizarre, I was almost certain I had passed out or was hallucinating. Evangeline had a knife- I recognized it from a few days earlier. She stared directly into my eyes. It was a defiant look. She stuck her arms through the bars, and within seconds, she drew the knife across Finn's neck. Blood immediately spurt from his neck and he fell to the ground. Unlike what I had seen in a few films, Finn did not die straight away. He coughed up more blood and wheezed.

The sight of the red blood piqued both mine and Rosalie's interest, both of us immediately running towards his dying body. But as we came closer to the body, the horrific stench of hunter blood hit us. The smell made me feel like I was going to vomit. It was the single most disgusting thing I'd ever smelled. I covered my mouth and nose in reflex to the putrid scent.

"Oh god," Rosalie turned around and held her stomach. "That's disgusting. Take it away! Get him out of here!"

Finn was sputtering his final pathetic breaths, a pool of blood having formed around him. Evangeline looked down at her brother's now lifeless body, and then at us. She smiled, "Damn, I forgot. Hunter blood smells bad to you all. How unfortunate. I would move his body, but...Seeing as how its presence upsets you all so much, well, I just have to leave it there. I have to get my jollies somehow, you know? You all wouldn't hold that against me, would you?"

Rosalie and I both just cast her dirty looks, not wishing to inhale the air around us.

"Well, I'm going to leave for a bit. I just killed my own brother after all. I mean, that really takes it out of you mentally and emotionally. I need time to regroup."

"Why did you do that?" Rosalie said, pinching her nose.

"A variety of reasons. There's really only one that concerns you- And that's that Finn was a little merciful and lenient for my tastes. I'm a hunter. He was, too. It's our job to kill you fuckers. He wasn't so much for the killing, in fact, sometimes he even befriended vampires. Gross, right? Yeah, well, I don't befriend vampires. And I don't show them mercy, because I realize that I've been created to kill them, to protect humans. I did Finn a favor. He didn't realize what kind of dishonor and shame he was bringing upon himself. I like to think he'd thank me, if he could."

Rosalie and I looked at each other. Evangeline was certifiably insane, and that meant something coming from two vampires.

"I'll be back later. And remember, if you get thirsty enough, hunter blood will give you a fix...But only for a few minutes before you die. Hunter blood is poisonous to vampires. Just in case you forgot," Evangeline flashed a pretty smile and disappeared back upstairs.

I looked at Finn's body, or rather the blood surrounding it.

Evangeline had left us with a way to kill ourselves. A way to both satisfy our thirst and end the pathetic thing we had the audacity to call our life.

Suddenly, Finn's blood did not seem so bad.

**A/N: Salut, tout le monde! :) I've been meaning to do this FOREVER, but I keep forgetting, but there are pics of Jasper's Corvette from Chapter 21, and pictures of how I picture Finn, Evangeline, and Clark in my profile, so check that out if you're interested in how I see them..If you want to keep your own mental images, that's fine too :) Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Pleeeeese review! :) Also, I'm probably going to be changing the title to this soon...This story took on a different path than what I had first imagined, so the title vaguely fits now, but I want to think of one that fits better, so if someday you get an alert for a story you've never heard of, it's probably this one. :P I changed the summary recently, since the summary was from back when it was just a one-shot. But yes. REVIEW! :)**


	28. Chapter 28

Evangeline took me up stairs and led me to what seemed to be her bedroom. She pulled some clothes out of her dresser and threw them to me. "You smell disgusting. Take a shower." I didn't argue with her. The prospect of a shower was too good to pass up. But I knew time was important, I couldn't dawdle.

So after the fastest shower I'd ever taken, I quickly emerged from the bathroom to find Clark standing guard out side the door. I wanted to chew him out for betraying us, but I knew that angering a vampire hunter wasn't the wisest of decisions right now. And I also knew that Clark had only known us for a few days. It wasn't as if we had been life-long friends he had just handed over to Finn and Evangeline. We were practically strangers. I gave him a brief glance. I intended to ignore him, knowing that if I spoke to him the only things I could say would provoke him. Not only was he a hunter, he was a child. And spiteful, angry children and their tempers are a force to be reckoned with.

"Oh, good, you're done. That was fast," Evangeline rounded the corner, car keys in her hands. "Here, I'll take you to the bus stop."

The three of us, Evangeline, Clark, and I, got into an old Toyota pick up truck. Evangeline drove like a bat out of hell. I found myself gripping the door as she maneuvered around the sharp curves in the road. I braced myself, as I was sure the truck was going to tilt over at some point. "Where are headed back to?" she asked as she drove.

"Um," I swallowed, "I'm from small town called Stanton. Right outside Memphis."

"Is that where the bloodsuckers kidnapped you from?"

"Yes." Every word I spoke to Evangeline was like pulling teeth. After having watched her torture Edward and Rosalie for the past few days, I had come to know the true meaning of the word hate. I just wanted to rip out her hair. I wanted to hurt her like she had hurt Edward and Rosalie. But alas I was just a regular human. I couldn't inflict any danger upon her. But I knew someone who could.

"Well, we're about a half hour south of Nashville, so you do have quite a ways to go before you'll get home. I'm going to leave you in Murfreesboro. From there you can catch the bus to Nashville, and then from there to Memphis. How you get to Stanton from there is completely up to you."

"I'll need money for a bus ticket," I ventured.

Evangeline looked troubled by this, but shrugged, "I guess we do slightly owe you...After how we treated you while you were down there. But you had to understand it from our point of view. You came around, though, so I apologize."

I didn't reply. There was no way I was going to even pretend to accept this bitch's apology. So I just nodded.

After a few minutes had passed, we pulled up to a bus station. "Clark, you stay in the car with her while I go get her ticket." She slammed the car door behind her, leaving me alone with Clark.

"I can't kill people, Bella," he exclaimed. He looked at me, his face full of fear. "I've been training for days now. They want your vampire friends to be my first kill, and- And I just can't do it! I'm not cut out for this!"

My eyes widened, "You're going to kill them?!" was the only thing my mouth could formulate.

"I don't want to. But that's the only reason Evangeline hasn't killed them yet, she wants me to get to do the honors. And I can't kill them until I've been trained. I can't do it! I don't care if they're vampires or ten headed monsters, I can't kill them."

"How much more training do you have before you're...Ready?"

"A week, maybe two if I drag my feet about it. Truth be told, I'm not very good at it...They think it's because I'm half regular human."

I ran a hand through my hair, thinking over what to do. This bought me time. A week, at least. "Clark, you have to keep them from killing Edward and Rosalie. I know someone that can help us. But you have to make sure to keep Evangeline and Finn occupied until I get back."

"Where are you going?"

I hesitated, "I'm going to keep that to myself for now. But I will be back, I promise. You just have to promise me to do everything in your power to keep them from killing Edward. And Rosalie. Can you do that?"

Clark swallowed, "Yeah, I can."

Evangeline started to make her way back towards the car, and Clark and I resumed our apparent disinterest in each other. She opened the door and handed me a ticket and some cash. "Here you go. This should get you to Memphis."

"Thanks," I took the ticket and cash with one hand while unbuckling my seat belt with the other. I got out of the car and made my way towards the bus terminal. I wanted to look back, to look at Clark, to either give him just a final encouraging look or to see if his was a face I could trust. But I knew to look back like that would only arouse suspicion in Evangeline, a risk I was not willing to take. I heard the truck pull away, the roar of the engine as Evangeline floored it.

I was free.

I was alone.

For the first time in a long time, I was truly alone. No friends, no family. I kept my head down. I was aware that my face had been on cable newscasts across the country. Surely someone had seen me before, and surely someone might recognize me. And while I would have loved nothing more than to go home and hug my parents and Jacob, I knew I was too close to the finish line. I couldn't be found now. I was Edward and Rosalie's- and by extension, Alice's- only hope.

I sat on a bench, waiting for my time to board the bus. There was a pay phone a few feet away. I thought about calling my dad. But technology was an amazing thing these days. They'd have the call traced, and they would be able to find me before I would be able to get back to Edward.

When I finally began my journey, I lingered on the thought of how lucky I had been that Evangeline had offered to bring me to the bus stop, unasked. I knew I had to get to Stanton, that was the end goal. But I hadn't been sure of how to get there. I hadn't even been sure of where I was in relation to the small town. Once I had, in Evangeline's mind, realized I was not on the vampires' side, it was like something flipped in her brain. Like a switch had been turned. When I was with Edward and Rosalie, she hated me, and I could not be trusted. But I leave them, and she was almost...Nice. But then again, I guess she had no reason to distrust me. It wasn't like there was anything I could do to hurt her or to help Rosalie and Edward. I was a human. I wasn't super strong, I wasn't super fast, and I knew nothing of magic. I was no threat to her.

Between the switching of buses between Murfreesboro and Nashville and Nashville and Memphis, the trip took me around six hours. I had slept a bit on the bus, my sleeping pattern completely void of any semblance of normality. It was around noon when I arrived to Memphis. The map of Tennessee Evangeline had given me told me that Stanton was about an hour away. If Edward had been here, that would have been a short little run. I sighed, unsure of how I was going to get to this tiny town.

I walked to a nearby diner. I scanned the patrons. After approaching several people and being turned down by them all, I turned to the last table left. It was a table of young people, late teens, early twenties. "Hi," I said awkwardly, "This is a really random question, but I was wondering if any of you could give me a ride somewhere? I can pay you," I remembered the hundred bucks Evangeline had given me. I was pretty sure she had meant to give me less money, but I wasn't going to question it.

The group, three girls and two boys looked at each other. "Where did you need to go?" one of the girls asked. She had red hair and silvery blue eyes.

"Stanton?" I replied in a hopeful tone of voice. "I know it's like an hour from here, but I really need to get there. My sister is having a baby. And I really want to be there for it."

"You look really familiar," one of the boys squinted at me, as if this would help him remember who I was. I desperately hoped he would not be able to place me. Maybe my emaciated, sleep-deprived appearance would work in my favor. Surely what I looked like now had little in common with the pictures the news stations had been showing.

"I get that a lot," I lied. "But a ride?" I changed the topic. "Can any of you give me one? I can give you a hundred bucks. It's all I have." I suddenly hoped that these were decent people who wouldn't just rob me and leave me penniless on the side of the road. They looked decent, but looks can be, and often are, deceiving.

"I can," the red-haired girl replied. "Dave," she turned to another boy, "Get my check, okay? I'll see you all later." She gave him a quick kiss and was up, out of the booth, motioning for me to follow her.

Our ride was mostly silent, save for the radio. We made small talk. Her name was Vicki. She was eighteen years old. She and Dave had been dating for three months. She really liked him but wasn't sure it was going to work out because she had met this really great guy in her Intro to Sociology class. I tried to make conversation, but my mind was on one thing right now, and it was hard to think about anything else.

We arrived to Stanton. Population: 615. "You can just drop me off here," I said as we passed by a few houses.

"I thought your sister was having a baby? I can take you to the hospital."

"Oh, um," I fumbled. Was a town this size even big enough for a hospital? "She's doing it at her house." I handed Vicki the hundred dollars and got out of the car and waved her off.

I knocked on the door of the house I was standing in front of. An older woman, probably about sixty years old, came to the door. "Hi," I smiled, "Could you tell me how to get to that herbal remedy shop from here? I'm not from here, and I'm supposed to meet someone there. So I was wondering if you could point me in the right direction?"

The woman looked annoyed, but begrudgingly gave me directions. Despite the fact that I was in flip flops, exhausted, and starving, I ran the whole way there. I received strange looks, but I didn't care.

I burst into the shop, gasping for breath. I scanned the place for the woman- for the witch who had told us Jasper and Alice had stopped here. Instead all I saw was a few hippies looking at incense and a guy working behind the counter. "Where," I caught my breath, "Where is the woman that works here?" I asked him.

He smiled as he took in my disheveled appearance and lack of breath. "Sophie is out of town for the day. Business meeting. She'll be back tomorrow, though."

"Is there any way I could get in contact with her before then? This is really important," my breathing had steadied.

He seemed to be thinking, "Hm, not really, no. What is your problem? I could probably help."

"I don't think you can."

"Oh, my ego," he smiled. I was getting annoyed. He obviously did not see the severity of the situation. But then again, he wasn't a mind reader, how could he?

"Look," I took on a more genteel tone, "I'm sure you're really good at...Aromatherapy or whatever it is that you do, but I need the woman that works in here."

"So your problem isn't related to the type of business we run here?"

"No," I replied, unsure of just how much I should let this fellow know.

The man looked me up and down, as if mentally sizing me up. "How do you know Sophie?"

"Um, she helped some friends of mine."

"What's your name?"

"Izzy," I replied. I did not want to use Isabella or Bella, positive those were the names that had been used when reporters had talked about me. The way this man was looking at me led me to believe he was putting something together in his mind. He probably recognized me.

"Who are your friends?"

I bit my lip, "Jasper."

The man seemed taken aback by this admission. "Come with me," he nodded his head to motion for me to follow him. He look me upstairs to what was apparently an apartment over the shop. "Stay up here until I come back. I just have to wait for the shop to empty out, and then I'll close up early. It might be awhile, so...Get some sleep." And with that, he left me.

The room was not how I expected a witch to decorate. The walls were a soft yellow and there was a skylight in the roof, letting in a large amount of sunshine. I sat on a sofa that was already warm from the sun's rays. I found my eyelids growing heavier.

"Sorry about that. I didn't think it'd take so long," a male voice said. My eyes flew open. I must have fallen asleep. Sunlight no longer shone through the skylight and, save for a lamp, the room was completely dark.

"No, no," I hazily replied, "It's fine." I sat up and began to straighten out my hair and clothes.

"Here's a burger," the man, who I recognized to be from earlier, threw a bag of fast food to me. "It's cold, but you don't seem like you'd be picky." I wondered what he meant by that and realized it was probably a reference to my gaunt appearance.

"Yeah, thanks. It's fine," I nodded.

"So, you're friends with vampires, huh?" he asked as he sat down on an ottoman a few feet from me. "Didn't know Jasper played nice with humans."

I looked at him for a minute. He had a knowledge of vampires. He seemed to know Jasper personally. "What's you're name?"

"Oh, sorry, I completely forgot to introduce myself. I'm Lucas," he stuck out his hand. My hand was small in his.

"My name's actually Bella," I weakly smiled.

"So, I'm assuming you need help from Sophie in a...Supernatural way? What for exactly?"

"First...Can you tell me how you know her?"

"She's my grandmother...Great-great-great-great grandmother," Lucas smiled.

"Are you a witch, too? Because if you are, maybe you could help me."

"I've just recently began studying the craft. So I'm not very good at it. What do you need Sophie for?"

"Well, my friends...Vampires...They've been captured by hunters. And they're being kept in this awful prison type cell! And everything is protected by spells and silver. There's no way they can get out. I only got out because the hunters let me go because I'm human. And I thought that Sophie could help us. I mean, I know she doesn't know Edward or Rosalie, but she helped Jasper and if she could help a lowlife like him, she could definitely help us!" I began to ramble. "Jasper kidnapped my best friend and Rosalie and Edward are helping me find her and get her back."

"Jasper and Sophie have a history, that's why she helped him. I doubt she'll help you set your friends free."

"What about you?!" I began to slightly panic. Magic was the only thing that could save Edward and Rosalie.

Lucas shrugged, "I'm sorry, but I don't know enough to help you. I mean, Sophie will be back in the morning. You can always ask, I just doubt she'd help. I would if I could."

"Can't you just learn how to reverse the spells real fast?" I asked.

"Magic isn't math. It's not just something you read or say aloud and you get what you want. There are forces to be contended with, controlled."

I sighed. Nothing could be simple, could it? "Fine. I'll wait for her."

Lucas smiled, "Delightful." He stood up. He was tall, a few inches over six feet. He looked to have a swimmer's body, long and lean. "Is there anything I can get for you? Tea? Water?" I shook my head.

Suddenly, there was a horrific high-pitched noise. I instinctively clasped my hands over my ears and tightly shut my eyes. Despite my eyes being closed, I could tell there was a bright light in front of me.

And just as quickly as the noise and light had appeared, both vanished. I uncovered my ears and opened my eyes. Before me stood the woman I was here for- Sophie. I absent-mindedly smiled, happy to see her.

She, on the other hand, did not seem pleased to see me.

**A/N: Eh, this was a slightly abrupt place to end, but if I didn't stop here, the chapter would go on too long. Thanks for all the reviews. They bring me joy :) So continue to bring me joy and review moreee, haha :)**


	29. Chapter 29

I was still alive- In a manner of speaking.

I had not drank Finn's blood. But it wasn't for a lack of trying. I had tried. But Rosalie would not let me. She'd been assured that Bella would come back for us. It was a nice thought, but I wasn't going to get my hopes up. Bella could come back for us, but there wasn't anything she could do to save us. So if she did in fact return, it would just be to die with us. And that wasn't going to happen. Bella had a life, things to lose, and things to gain. She wasn't going to just lay it down for two damned souls. And besides, if she was coming back for us, where was she?

She'd been gone for nearly two weeks- Bringing the grand total of my time spent in this cell to a month, roughly. And I'd gone even longer without feeding. I was so hungry. I couldn't move. I was starting to resent Rosalie for keeping me from drinking Finn's blood. Evangeline had come back down a few days later and cleaned up the blood and corpse, so now I didn't even have the option. But then again, even if I had, I was so weak from hunger that I doubted I could move to even drink the blood.

I didn't know why Evangeline hadn't just killed us already. She seemed to be making less trips down to torture us ever since Bella left. I could still hear Clark training upstairs, but not as often. It seemed as if the intensity of both Evangeline's hatred and Clark's training had been brought down a notch. Not that it was saying much, Rosalie and I were still beaten every other day or two.

Perhaps part of the reason that Evangeline had been relatively lax towards Rosalie and myself was that she was a human and had human responsibilities. Every day from morning till afternoon, she was gone to school. It was hard to picture the girl who had just killed her own brother in cold blood sitting in a high school, twirling her blonde hair and giggling at all the stupid jokes told by the various boys who thought themselves to be in love with her. It was even stranger when she told Clark she would help him with his training after she finished her biology homework.

While she was gone to school, I often heard some sort of strange noise coming from the door to the basement. Everyday. But after about ten to twenty minutes of it, it would stop. I wondered what it was, but in all honesty, I was past the point of truly caring. Nothing really mattered anymore. The only thing I could truly focus on was the burning thirst in the back of my throat. Sometimes I actually looked forward to Evangeline's torture for the pure fact that it would leave me unconscious and therefore unaware of the pain.

Rosalie was just as bad off as I was. But unlike me, she held out hope that Bella would come back, and somehow help us. Unless Bella could mow down Evangeline and Clark and catch a deer for me to drink from, that wasn't going to happen. But Rose still had hope that it was. She seemed to have forgotten the small fact that just before Evangeline had taken Bella away, I had ran at her and angrily told her she couldn't leave me. Something had just snapped in my brain. And that would be the last memory Bella would have of me. And besides, if Bella had planned to come back, she would've told me, not just left me wondering where she'd gone.

I was drifting back into consciousness when I heard a familiar voice. A voice I hadn't heard in a long time. I had to be be hallucinating. It was James. He and Evangeline were yelling at one another. I didn't understand. Why didn't she just take him down? Their voices melded together in my brain. After a few minutes the yelling turned into talking at a normal volume. Still, though, their voices weren't distinct from one another and my vision blurred. I fell back into unconsciousness.

When I woke up, it was silent. Rosalie lie on the ground, staring up at the ceiling. "Rosalie," I said. "Did you hear James earlier?"

_No. _Rosalie had grown too weak to audibly speak. _Why?_

"I thought I did. But it was probably my imagination." I saw Rosalie almost imperceptibly nod.

As the hours went by and the sun set, I noticed how it was still deathly silent upstairs. No voices, creaks of the floorboard. I closed my eyes and sighed. Then against the silence there was a shrill noise, followed by a blinding flash of light.

I gathered my strength to turn my head to look out the cell door.

"Edward!" Bella exclaimed as she ran towards the cell bars and pulled on them.

I blinked fiercely, positive I was seeing things. There was no way Bella had just _appeared_ out of thin air. But then the scent of her blood hit me. It hit me like a wall. As it did Rosalie. We were both on our feet and staggering towards the cell bars. Human blood had never smelled so sweet. The dull fire in my throat was now burning so badly that I _had_ to have Bella. I knew there was no way I was going to be able to keep from killing her if those bars were removed. I would hate myself for it, but I didn't care about that right now.

Both Rosalie and I grabbed onto the cell bars, and the silver sent a shooting pain through our bodies, casting us back onto the floor.

"We're going to get you out of here. Don't worry," Bella said, apparently unaware of why exactly I had just made a beeline for her.

I gritted my teeth in pain. I breathed through my mouth so as to not inhale anymore of her scent. "Bella," I seethed, "We'll kill you. We need blood."

It was then I realized Bella was not alone. With her was the witch from the herbal shop and a blond man. The blond man grabbed Bella's shoulder and pulled her back from the bars, "They're hungry. Maybe we should get them something to drink before setting them loose."

Bella quickly looked to him and then at me. "Then do it!"

"Sophie?" the blond looked to the woman.

"There aren't any spells for this. You're going to have to bring them people or animals or whatever it is they drink from," the woman shrugged.

Bella seemed to suddenly remember something. "Clark!" she ran up the stairs and banged on the door. "Clark!" she yelled. "Lucas, can you beat the door down?" she turned around to him.

"Can we focus on one problem at a time?" the woman, Sophie as she was called, tried to reign Bella's energies back into focusing on the fact that Rosalie and I couldn't be released until we'd fed. "We'll get the boy later."

I suddenly wondered where Evangeline was. Surely she had heard the loud noise when Bella had arrived, and surely she heard Bella yelling and beating on the door for Clark.

Bella ran her hands through her hair as she walked back down the stairs and sat on the bottom step. "Well, are either of you good hunters? Is there a curse we could use to catch animals?" Bella looked to Sophie and the blond- Lucas, I'd heard Bella call him.

"Not that we have access to right now, no," Sophie seemed to be in thought. "And I've never hunted any animals in my life. Lucas?"

"I'm a vegetarian. I don't eat animals, much less have any experience hunting them."

The room was quiet. An idea hung in the air, but it wasn't one that any of the humans were comfortable with. It was wrong, after all. It would make them murderers.

"I'll do it," Bella said softly.

I wanted to argue with her, but I was too thirsty. I didn't care what she had to do. I just wanted to feed.

"But I'm going to need help."

Lucas and Bella argued with one another for a few minutes before Lucas gave up and agreed to help Bella. The two devised a plan of action and it was time for them to leave.

"I'll be back, Edward," Bella called, standing a few feet back from the silver bars. I didn't reply. Despite the fact that I was going to get what I wanted, I still felt a small sense of guilt. Saying anything in reply to her, unless it was to discourage her from what she was about to do, would only be verbal confirmation. I didn't want to give her that, but at the same time I was not going to discourage her from this. I needed this.

Seeing I was not going to reply to her, she and Lucas clasped hands. Sophie muttered some incantations. Again, there was the high pitched noise and bright light. And then Bella and Lucas were gone, only Sophie remained. She went up the stairs, picked the lock on the door, and went upstairs.

She returned twenty minutes later with Clark, his head bandaged. I could smell the hunter blood seeping through it. I held my breath to keep from having to smell it. I wondered what had happened to cause his injury.

There was the noise and flash of light. Bella and Lucas were back. But this time, they had company- Two elderly men looking bewildered. Bewildered, but not frightened. I wonder if they knew what was coming for them. A quick scan of their thoughts revealed that they did- And that death was a welcome reprieve for them. I wondered why they were so welcoming to death, and where Bella and Lucas had found them, but those thoughts were cast aside. They weren't important at the moment. I started to breathe in, the smell of all the human blood in the room making me dizzy. It was perfect.

Sophie came up to the lock on the bars- It had been enchanted. She traced some designs on the lock with her finger while mumbling something beneath her breath. The door fell open. Lucas instinctively put Bella behind him to protect her from us. He then shoved the two elderly men into our cell and pulled the door shut.

In less than a few seconds, Rosalie and I gathered every bit of strength we had left and descended upon the men.

I hadn't tasted human blood in decades. It was better than I remembered. As the warm liquid glided down my throat, I felt my strength returning. I felt like nothing could stop me, like I could rip that silver gate right off its hinges. When I finished with the man, I dropped him to the floor and looked about the room wildly. Rosalie, too, was finished, and her eyes were glowing red. We both wanted more. We were satiated, yes. But after having gone so long without blood, we wanted to gorge ourselves.

I looked at Lucas and Sophie, both looked at Rosalie and myself rather admonishingly. Lucas stood with his hands at his waist, slightly shaking his head. And through the space between his waist and arm, I saw Bella looking at me. She still stood behind Lucas, her eyes wide.

This was sobering. The high of finally feeding was wearing off. I had just killed a human being in front of her. Killing someone to begin with was bad enough. The fact that I'd done it in front of Bella- Well, there went all chances of her ever seeing me in a romantic light ever again. But she had been the one to bring the men to us. She shouldn't have been shocked about what just happened. It was to be expected. But still. I should have at least thought to have them get Bella to leave the room.

"You two calmed down?" Sophie stepped towards the bars.

"Give me a minute," Rosalie replied.

I caught Bella's eye as we waited for Rosalie to get her bloodlust under control. "Bella," I said dumbly. I didn't even know what I was going to say or even wanted to say to her.

She stepped out from behind Lucas and approached the cell door. "Yes?"

"I...I'm so sorry."

"That's not important right now. What you and Rosalie need to focus on is finding Alice. Everything else can wait."

Silence passed between us. She continued to just look at me with wide eyes. "Okay, I'm good," Rosalie announced.

Lucas pulled open the bars. Stepping onto the other side of them for the first time since arriving here all those months ago felt surreal. It felt like a trap.

"Wait. Where's Evangeline?" I asked. I looked at Clark suspiciously.

"She went somewhere with another vampire," he replied, apparently aware that I was accusing him of trickery.

"Evangeline doesn't hang out with vampires," Rosalie replied, "Unless she went somewhere to kill this other vampire."

"We're humans, you know," Clark looked annoyed. "Things that hurt regular humans hurt us."

"Your point being?" Rosalie asked.

"The vampire that came here took Evangeline by surprise. She didn't have any of her weapons. He had a gun."

Rosalie laughed, "You expect me to believe that? That the woman who just tortured me for a month could be taken down by a gun? Yeah. Right."

"He's telling the truth," Bella spoke up. "Sophie conjured this thing...Like a window into the house. We could watch to make sure you all were still alive all the way from Sophie's. That's how we knew the coast was clear to come now, we saw that she and James left."

So I hadn't been hearing things earlier when I thought I'd heard James. "And why didn't they take you?" I looked to Clark.

"I was supposed to stay here to guard you all, but as the vampire left, he shoved my head against the counter. It knocked me out. That's how I got the cut on my forehead."

"What did James want with Evangeline?" I glanced to anyone in the room who might have answers for me.

Bella shrugged, "We could only see what was going on. We couldn't hear what was being said."

"He didn't say exactly. He just said he needed her help, and that she'd get to kill some vampires," Clark shrugged.

"As lovely as this is," Sophie interrupted our conversation. "Lucas and I will be leaving. I've served my purpose. I'll probably never be able to practice magic again, so I hope you all find Jasper and Alice. Good luck."

"Oh, come on, Sophie, it's just getting good," Lucas smiled.

"We can take it from here," Rosalie cast an unwelcoming look to him. "Besides, witches can't run very fast. You'd only slow us down. We need to leave immediately."

"Rosalie is right," I nodded. "Thank you both for your help, but we're okay on our own now."

Lucas didn't look happy with this declaration but shrugged and smiled. "Alright. Well, if you ever need anything, you know where to find us," he shook my hand. He turned to Bella. "And if you're ever interested in witchcraft, give me a call. I think you'd be good at it."

Bella laughed. I hadn't heard her laugh in so long. She hugged Lucas goodbye, and suddenly jealously roared through my body.

Then in a flash of light, Lucas and Sophie were gone. The rest of us went upstairs. Clark got his hunter supplies, and Bella grabbed some food for Clark and herself. Rosalie was focusing on picking up James and Evangeline's tracks. I looked at the clock, it was midnight. We'd only have a few hours before the sun would be up.

We went outside. Without question or hesitation, Bella jumped up into my arms. We took off into the night.

We were going to find Alice.

**A/N: QUESTION TIME: We are getting semi-close to the end of this little story. I'm curious if there is any interest in a sequel? Because I know how the story is going to end, but I can change certain details so that the ending is open for a sequel. Or I can just tie everything up and leave nothing to interpretation and this story be the only one. I've already thought out what would be the plot of the sequel, but yeahh. Thoughts?**

**Sorry it's been so long since my last update. I was almost finished with this chapter on Monday, but I had things to do Monday night so I didn't have time to finish it. And then Tuesday I was just exhausted. But here it is. Woo! And to answer the question of why didn't Bella just take off in the truck with Clark when Evangeline went to the bus station. 1. Evangeline can run much faster than any automobile. 2. The lock on the cell that Rose and Edward was in was enchanted, locked by means of magic, not a physical lock that Bella could pick. **

**Thanks darlings...Please oh please review :) I apologize in advance for any typos...My brain is fried from uni lately -_-**


	30. Chapter 30

Sophie looked to Lucas, "What is she doing here?" Her tone was annoyed, as if she were not in the mood to deal with me.

"This is Bella. She wants your help saving her friends from some hunters."

Sophie seemed caught off guard by this. "Jasper?" concern crept into her voice.

"No!" I replied, almost angry that she seemed interested in his well-being. Jasper did not deserve her care. "My friends- Do you remember me? I was with two other vampires in here a few weeks ago?"

"Of course I do," Sophie snapped, "You don't just forget two vampires and a couple of humans wandering into your shop."

"Well they've been caught by some vampire hunters. Can you please help me?"

"As much as I'd love to," her voice was thick with sarcasm, "I've just returned from being stripped of most of my magic. I won't get it all back for six months."

"What?!" Lucas exclaimed. "Who will teach me?"

"I said most of my magic, not all of it. They still left me with a few abilities. I can still travel, and I can manipulate existing spells. I just can't cast any new ones."

My mind raced over what this meant for my plans. "So you can't help me?" I asked.

"It's more like I won't," Sophie flatly replied. She seemed done with me, she started taking off her jacket and then earrings. She went to her kitchen and started looking for something to eat.

"You don't understand," I followed her to the kitchen. "If you don't help me, they'll die. She'll kill them. And then Jasper will kill Alice. Alice is my best friend. Please, please help me."

"Jasper and Alice seemed quite friendly with each other when I saw them," Sophie shrugged, pulling out a carton of orange juice from the refrigerator.

"That doesn't mean anything! Edward told me about how Jasper can control emotions. That's what he was doing to her. Jasper kidnapped her! She's not with him because she likes him...She doesn't even know him!" I argued. Sophie's apathy was hard to fight against.

"Why should I help you? I've known Jasper for over a hundred years. Why should I abandon that friendship to help you?"

"You're..._Friends_ with him?!"

"I told you that earlier," Lucas interrupted. "That's why she helped him."

"And it's also why I was just stripped of some of my magic. So you can see why I'm not too eager to jump up and help your vampire friends. If I got caught, well, I'd probably lose all my magic for at least a year. They've been very patient with me. They know Jasper is my weak spot. But they can only take so much."

"They?" I asked.

"Not important, as far as you're concerned."

Sophie started putting together a sandwich for herself. "I am begging you," I took on the most desperate and sincere tone I knew. "Please do this for me. I'll do anything. Please. For me. A human. A non-magical, non-damned, boring, plain human. _Please_." Sophie just continued to stare blankly at me. "You don't get in trouble for helping humans, do you?"

"That's how I justified helping your friend Alice. Because she was the one asking me to help her, I thought it would be okay. But magic leaves a print of its intent, its motivation. My motivation to help Alice was because I knew it meant a lot to Jasper, not because of any feelings towards the girl."

"This is different though," I said. "If you help them, you'll help me save Alice. I know you and Jasper are friends...But then you have to know what kind of person he is, what he'll do to her. You'd be saving a human. Maybe this can get you into better standing with whoever it was that took your magic away."

Sophie slowly bit her top and bottom lips alternately while appearing to be mulling over the possibilities. "You'd do anything to get me to help you, huh?"

I hesitated, afraid of what she might have me do in order to gain her help. "Almost," I swallowed.

"Then I 'almost' decided to help you."

"Sophie," Lucas said, "What good is it being a witch if you can't use it for good?"

"Oh Lord," Sophie rolled her eyes. "Do not start with me."

"No," Lucas said more forcefully, "You're what? Over a hundred years- Nearly two hundred years old, and really, what do you have to show for that time? Just help her."

Sophie made a disgusted face. "You help her," she spat, and left the room.

"I'll work on her," Lucas' tone was apologetic.

"I don't have that kind of time," I sighed. "Can't you help me? Do you know any spells or anything?"

Lucas seemed to think for a moment. "Not really, no. I'm still attempting to break through."

"Break through?"

"Magic is like...A force," Lucas was having trouble describing it. "Like there's a wall between me, a regular human, and magic. Breaking through that, and tapping into magic, it's a hard process. Because if you don't do it just right...Well, magic is a powerful thing. It could kill me."

"I don't totally get that, but that doesn't matter right now," I shook my head, trying to focus back on what I was here for in the first place. "How can you convince her?"

"I don't know. It seemed like she had an idea of how _you_ could convince her, but when you said there were limits to what you'd do, she didn't even offer it up. It's probably pretty bad."

"Is," I felt juvenile asking such a basic question, "Is Sophie bad?"

Lucas paused. "That's a difficult question. I mean, no one is all good or all bad."

We were quiet. I looked around the apartment. "What am I supposed to do? Where am I supposed to go? I can't just go home. I've been assumed kidnapped along with Alice and Edward. If I just show up without either of them, I'll be placed under so much scrutiny and questioning...I can't look at Alice's parents and siblings and just let them think she's dead or worse."

"If you had more time, I could help you. But...It could be months before I'm good enough at controlling magic to be useful."

I lifelessly fell to a nearby chair. I tried to think of a new plan. "Can you take me to other witches? They could help me couldn't they?"

"If you think I'm bad about helping you, other witches are ten times worse," Sophie reentered the room. "And I'd like to think I'm good." She smirked. "Anyways. I've given some thought to what you could do for me. You just have to decide if your friends are worth it."

"What?" I asked.

"See, you have something that I would like to have. And unfortunately, I can't take it by force, you have to offer it to me. Otherwise, I'd have gotten this from someone else a long time ago."

"What is it?"

"Your innermost human spirit," Sophie said in a taciturn manner.

"Can you elaborate on what that means?" I asked, not in the mood to beat around the bush.

"I guess the way you're most familiar with it is the soul."

A beat of silence passed. I was processing what she had just proposed. "What- What do you need my soul for?"

"I won't necessarily take it. I don't really need it currently. I might never need it. But in case I ever do, it would be nice to have one on reserve," Sophie said.

"So you'll help me if I do this?"

"Personally I think it's a good deal. Your friends are saved, and you'll most likely always get to keep your soul."

"What would happen to me if you needed it?" I asked.

"Okay, I can't just stand here and let this happen," Lucas held up his hands. "It's your soul, Bella. Not a pair of pants. You can't just lend it out to people."

I wondered why Lucas had gone to Sophie to learn witchcraft. They certainly didn't seem the approach the topic in the same way. But Lucas was young- Well, at least in comparison to Sophie- and not jaded. He seemed to be quite principled about things.

"Well that's the only way I'll help her," Sophie shrugged. "I'll give you a day to think about it. I'm going to bed. Goodnight." And with that, she left for her bedroom, shutting the door behind her. I heard the lock click.

Lucas looked to me apologetically. "I'll...I'll get you some pillows and blankets for the couch. I'll take the floor," he ignored the topic of my soul altogether and began going through a nearby closet for linens.

He wordlessly made up my bed on the sofa, then made his own on the floor. I lied on the couch, him on the floor. For a long time we were both silent. I thought he was asleep. I had slept a little earlier, and my mind was racing. So I lied there in the silence, staring in to the dark as I turned over my thoughts.

I wondered how bizarre this situation was. A few weeks ago I was thinking about how I was going to handle a school, a job, and an illicit affair, all the while harboring secret feelings for my supposedly human roommate. That was normal. That was doable. I could handle that. But in the last few weeks, Alice had been kidnapped. That supposedly human roommate turned out to be a vampire. Said vampire tried to kill me, accidentally. I was mauled my a fucking werewolf. Then said vampire and his friend and I were all thrown into some sort of enchanted prison cell. I escaped. And now the only way the only person I could think of to help will actually help is if I gave her access to my soul.

What the hell kind of reality was this?

No, I couldn't think about that. I had to think about Alice. And Edward. And maybe Rosalie. She had saved my life a few times, so I did owe her. I thought about what would happen if I decline Sophie's offer. Going back to Chicago without Alice wasn't an option. If I went back to Chicago...Even if I claimed total and complete ignorance, I knew Alice's parents. They wouldn't just let me show up, say, "Oh, I don't know where Alice is," and go on about my life. The would subject me to every psychological evaluation, polygraph test, and anything else they could think of. I was only human. I could lie all day long, but my mind and body would eventually betray me. And I would be considered insane once it broke that I believed Alice to be kidnapped by vampires. People would say they didn't see my differently, but it's hard to look past crazy.

I could decline Sophie's offer and just stay here the rest of my life. Or anywhere. I would live below the radar for a few years until everyone had forgotten about me. I'd start going by a different name. But even with a different name, I'd still need my birth certificates and all that legal paperwork to ever get a job that didn't involve fries. I'd have to start my entire life over. What would I even do with my life? All of my plans...My family and my friends...I had nothing here. Everything was in Forks or Chicago. To pass up Sophie's offer was to pass up all of that.

But most importantly, to decline the proposition was to sign the death warrant for Edward and Rosalie and Alice, the last of whom I wasn't even sure was alive anymore at this point. Rosalie was the only one I literally owed my life. Edward, he meant a lot to me, in him I'd found a peace and companionship that I'd never found with anyone else, not even Jacob. And Alice was my best friend. I'd brought Edward into our lives, and Edward had brought Jasper. I was my responsibility to save her in any way I could. I had brought this on her, in a way.

Plus, Sophie said she might not ever even need my soul. That it would be on layaway, sort of. There was a chance that I could save all of them and keep my soul. And even if I lost it, Alice and Edward and Rosalie- They'd all be safe. If I didn't agree to Sophie's proposal, I'd keep my soul but lose everything that really mattered. It'd be almost worthless to me. And even if I kept my soul and made new friends and somehow did make a new life for myself, I would never be able to look myself in the mirror knowing what I'd done.

"You'll make the right decision," Lucas said suddenly, causing me to startle just a bit. "Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you."

"Have you been awake this whole time?" I asked.

"Off and on, but mostly I've been awake."

"I've just been thinking," I sighed listlessly. "Weighing the pros and cons of selling your soul is surprisingly difficult," I joked. Lucas chuckled. "This is ridiculous. Just totally unreal."

I told Lucas everything. The night I'd met Edward and Jasper on the streets. Edward living with me. The werewolf. The hunters. My thoughts and feelings towards Edward, Rosalie, Alice, Jacob, my parents. Everything that had passed through my mind in the pass few weeks but hadn't wanted to stress Edward with, I dumped on Lucas, who silently took it all in.

"Well," he exhaled, his voice sleepy. "I wouldn't give Sophie what she wanted. But I don't think I'm as brave as you are. You've come a long way for this." I expected him to say more, but he yawned and his breathing steadied. He was sleeping.

Now that I was both physically and mentally exhausted, my eyelids drooped despite my fighting it. I fell asleep.

When I woke up in the morning, Lucas was gone, his sheets folded into a neat pile and placed under the coffee table. Sophie was sitting at the kitchen counter, stirring sugar into her tea. "Lucas is down in the shop," she said.

"I've decided," I said resolutely as I sat up.

"Oh?" she paused her stirring and looked at me. "And what have you decided?"

"I'll do it."

Sophie smiled, almost laughing, "That's delightful." Then a piece of paper appeared out of thin air. "I'll need you to sign this. It's just saying that you relinquish rights to your soul and that should I ever need it, it's mine for the taking." I was going to ask for a pen, but I felt a sharp pinch on my finger. It was bleeding. "Blood is binding," Sophie grinned. "But go ahead and sign." I paused. I closed my eyes and used my finger to sign my name. I finished the final slope of the N in Swan, and the paper disappeared.

"What happened to not being able to use magic?" I asked suspiciously.

"I can't cast spells. I'm just summoning things. The paper was in my bedroom, the pin I used to prick your finger was in a drawer over in that desk. No spells involved. Anyways, you've held up your end of this deal, so let's get to work on saving your dear vampires, hm?"

I was taken aback by Sophie actually keeping her word, but she did. "Now, what we have at our disposal makes us work a little more creatively and dangerously than I typically would prefer, but since I can't cast spells, it will have to do. Typically I'd just make a channel, travel from here to wherever your friends are, cast an invisibility or transfigurative spell to slip by the hunters undetected, and set your friends free. But since we can't go invisible or take on the form of an animal or something, we'll have to do this in plain sight. And if a hunter catches us, we have no spells to protect ourselves from them. So we have to be very exact about this."

The next few days were devoted to planning a course of action. We finally decided that it would be best to keep an eye on the habits of the comings and goings of Evangeline and Finn, so when we channeled to the house we could be sure they were not there. To do this, Sophie used what looked to be a plain mirror, but was anything but. She had me close my eyes and think about and picture the place where Finn and Evangeline were staying. Once I had the image in my mind, I told her, and I felt some sort of cool object run across my forehead. She then had me open my eyes to look in the mirror. And in the mirror was Evangeline and Clark. It was like I was looking in through a window. I saw their movements, but no sound. We never saw Finn. I wondered where he'd gone. Once we thought maybe he was staying down in the basement with Rosalie and Edward, so we looked there. But we only saw Rosalie and Edward in misery. They looked so much worse than when I had left. I couldn't stand to look at them, and I never looked at them again.

Evangeline often left the house. Clark always stayed. Finn remained unseen. I had been ready to channel to the house when it was discovered that Evangeline would leave everyday for large amounts of time, leaving Clark there supposedly alone. Clark would train sometimes, and apparently got sick for a few days, leaving him bedridden and unable to practice his hunting. But Sophie wasn't sure about Clark, and was even more apprehensive about the fact that we hadn't seen Finn. She thought that perhaps they knew what I was doing and his absence was a ploy to give us a false sense of security. "Are you sure you can trust that kid?" she asked. I wanted to trust Clark. But in all honesty, I didn't. So we continued to wait for our chance, each of us taking turns watching the mirror.

It had been nearly two weeks since I'd arrived to Sophie's. Sophie was working down in the shop, and it was Lucas' turn to watch the mirror. I was eating a bowl of mint chocolate chip ice-cream. "Hey, I think that Finn dude is back, and he has a gun," Lucas turned around to look at me.

I slid off the chair I was sitting on and came to take a look. "That's not Finn. That's a vampire, look at his eyes. They're red. I don't know who he is."

Just then Sophie came upstairs after having closed up the shop for the evening. She peeked over our shoulders to see what we were studying so intently. "What is James doing there?" she asked.

"You know him?"

"I've seen him a few times. He's a member of Jasper's coven."

We watched the scene play out in front of us. James had taken Evangeline by surprise. She had just been scouring over some homework with Clark sitting at the table with her when James burst through the door. Evangeline and James appeared to be yelling at each other, their hand and arm gestures flailing wildly. They eventually calmed down, somewhat, and appeared to have a normal, albeit still hostile, conversation. They came to a conclusion of their talk, and Evangeline motioned something to Clark. She left the room, Clark following her, and James following him. But James reached for Clark's shirt collar, pulling him back towards himself. He quickly bashed Clark's head on the edge of the counter, leaving Clark lying lifelessly on the floor.

"We have to go!" I exclaimed, looking up at Sophie. But Sophie had us wait for a few hours, to make sure Evangeline and James were gone. Clark was obviously not a problem, as he was lying unconscious on the floor. Finn was still unseen, but we figured it was now or never. We checked the basement to make sure Edward and Rosalie were still alive, which they were.

Sophie opened up a channel to the basement. I was curious as to the mechanics of this, but now was not the time to ask. We stepped into the channel, and it felt as if my entire body was being sucked up by a giant straw.

We arrived to the cell. "Edward!" I exclaimed as I ran towards the bars. He and Rosalie looked absolutely dreadful. The bruises under their eyes were practically black, their cheekbones gaunt and protruding. They definitely looked the part of the undead. Edward started towards me, but upon touching the silver bars, he was sent falling to the floor. "We're going to get you out of here. Don't worry."

But it was soon realized that Edward and Rosalie were going to need blood. Sophie's magic would have been useful, had she been able to use it. I certainly couldn't hunt an animal, nor could Lucas. I would have, had I had the ability. But I'd never held a gun or bow or anything in my entire life. I wasn't even good at those carnival games that you had to shoot water through a hole. There was no way I was going to be able to shoot a live, moving animal.

We were going to have to get a human. I volunteered to do it, but Lucas was not fond of the idea. "Bella, you can't just go get someone and bring them to their death."

"There are people who are tired of living, who want to die," I said, "And at the same time deserve it."

"Since when are you the judge of who deserves to live and die?" Lucas said in a hushed angry tone.

"I know of a place where we can find people willing to do this. When I lived in Washington, my dad was a police chief, and sometimes his job would require him to testify in cases where a defendant was up for the death penalty."

"You want go to to fucking death row?" Lucas was aghast and slightly angry.

"You don't know how awful death row is, obviously. People living in isolation for decades. Alot of the time they go crazy before they're killed. And they're old, Lucas. Men in their seventies and eighties. They're ready for death, and Edward and Rosalie can be faster and quicker and even more painless than however the state would do it."

"You've lost your mind."

"What do you propose then?"

Lucas was silent. "Fine, but I'm going with you." We turned to Sophie, and she created a channel to the only prison I knew the name of- Walla Walla in Washington.

When we arrived to the prison, we appeared in a cell shared by two men, both awaiting execution. They weren't really frightened by us or the fact that we had just appeared out of thin air. Lucas and I both patiently and calmly explained the situation to them without using the word vampire. We offered them a reprieve from this place, and a death faster and less painful than what was awaiting them. They were old men, both in their seventies. They listened to us and nodded. It was hard to believe either of them were ever strong enough to hurt someone, much less do something that warranted putting them on death row.

The men looked at each other and shrugged. "We don't really have anything to lose at this point. Why not?" one said to the other. The other nodded. "We'll go with you," the first man said. "If anything it's a final flip of the bird to this goddamn place."

I half-way smiled. Lucas took the hand of one man, and I took the hand of the other. Lucas reopened the channel, and we all stepped into it. Within seconds we were back in the basement with Edward and Rosalie.

Upon our arrival, we placed the men in the cell with the vampires. Lucas protectively placed me behind him, making himself a barrier between me and the vampires, should they escape somehow. Within seconds, the entire ordeal was over. I felt a weight lift off my back. It was done, over. I didn't have to think about the men or the weight of their lives anymore. There was nothing to be done about them now. What was done was done.

I had seen Edward kill a deer before, I had seen him rush at me with blood lust. But to actually see him literally drain the life from a human being, it was surreal and strange and disconcerting. But now just wasn't the time to think about that. Lucas had been right, I had come a long way for this- For Alice. I'd done things I'd never imagined myself capable of. I couldn't stop for anything now. My thoughts and feelings about Edward would have to be sorted out later.

When Rosalie and Edward regained control of themselves, Lucas released them from the cell. Edward and I looked at each other. My first impulse was to run and hug him, but for some reason, I didn't. Clark, his head bandaged, explained his side of the situation to us.

Lucas and Sophie left, Sophie giving me a stern stare as she bid us adieu, reminding me of what she technically owned now. Lucas hugged me goodbye, and I saw a spark of jealousy across Edward's face. I hated to admit it, but I liked it. Sophie grabbed Lucas' hand as she opened up the channel and the two were gone.

It was just the four of us- Rosalie, Edward, Clark, and myself- now. As Rosalie set on Evangeline and James' tracks, sure that they would lead us to Jasper and Alice, I climbed into Edward's arms. The seasons had been changing. It was no longer summer, and the night air and Edward's skin were the same temperature. I clasped onto him tightly.

I didn't care about anything else right now, except for feeling his body against mine.

**A/N: Damn this was long. We're getting so close to the end :') Haha. So as of now the sequel to this is pretty much a-go. But don't worry, I'm not going to end this fic on a cliffhanger or anything. The story will feel overall complete, but I'm leaving open avenues about like, "I wonder what happened with this situation..." type things, if that makes sense. I'd say there are probably...Give or take...5-7 more chapters to this, but I'm not positive. Anywho...Review, review. Also: From the reviews I've realized that the timeline of events isn't very clear, so after my next update I'll probably put up a timeline in my profile so everyone can see how things played out :)**


	31. Chapter 31

**A/N: This chapter is rated M towards the end, so if you're offended by that, just mosey on out :P**

"I need to be alone, I mean, I need to be with Edward," Bella said suddenly as we were discussing where to go. The sun was coming up, and it was time for us to take cover for the time being. It had rained through the night, but the sun was slowly rising over the horizon. We had decided on a cheap motel in a rural town. We were past the point of caring about recognized anymore. Plus, even if anyone did, we would be gone before they could find us.

"Um, okay," Rosalie arched an eyebrow. "Any particular reason why?"

"Well, obviously it's for a personal reason," Bella snapped. "If I wanted you to know I wouldn't want to be alone with him."

Rosalie rolled her eyes and shrugged. "Whatever."

"So, could you take care of Clark?"

"You know, you might want to be a little nicer before you ask me to babysit him," Rosalie replied, not attempting to hide her annoyance.

"Yeah, well if it weren't for him Evangeline probably would've killed both of you. So be nice to him."

"What?" I interrupted the two of them.

"I faked sick for a few days, and then I sucked at training on purpose," Clark looked up at me sheepishly. "You all were supposed to be my first kill, you two couldn't die until I was ready to do it."

"Oh," I replied, surprised. "Well, thanks." Clark shrugged in response.

"So," Bella returned to her suggestion, "Rosalie, could you two go get a snack or something while I talk to Edward?"

"I'll think about it. Let's find a place to stay first. Then we'll work on that," Rosalie cooly said. I could tell she probably wasn't going to give Bella what she wanted, but didn't want to have to listen to Bella complain or beg.

We found a motel. The man at the desk looked at us curiously as we approached him. _Their eyes. Their eyes, they're red. Must be contacts. Crazy kids._ I then remembered the fact that Rosalie and I had both recently fed on human blood. We must have looked threatening and frightening.

"How many rooms?" he asked us.

"Two," Rosalie replied quickly, much to my surprise. "Just for today." She flashed him a wide smile. He quickly looked away. Without contacts to hide the red eyes, Rosalie couldn't be anything but disturbing. Her flawless skin, perfect bone structure, statuesque height, and shapely but slim body could not hide what her eyes so convincingly and truthfully conveyed- She was dangerous and not to be trusted. Maybe had she been an actual human the man might have been able to get past her haunting red eyes. But there was real danger and terror in her eyes, the kind that sinks into a person, there was no denying that. He handed her the keys and asked for the money up front.

I felt around my pockets. Somewhere along this journey, I'd lost all the money I had. I looked to Rosalie. She didn't have any money either. Bella bit her lip. "Is there an ATM or something nearby?" she asked the man. He smiled when she talked. Bella was not like Rosalie. She was comforting to look at. Her warm brown eyes conveying nothing but companionship and kindness. She might not have had the super model stature and features like Rosalie, but it did not matter. He was drawn to Bella. Maybe because, in addition to being an attractive girl, in comparison with the rest of us, she was the least threatening.

The man seemed deep in thought, "We had one once, but it broke...Never did get it fixed."

"Well, we don't have any money," Rosalie stated in a tone that made it sound like she was blaming him for this fact.

"Then I guess you don't have a room, either," he shrugged.

"Sir," Bella shot a glare at Rosalie and turned back to the man, "It's just one day. Please? We don't have a car, and we don't have any place to go. And my little brother here is exhausted from walking all night. We won't be any trouble at all, I promise." I looked at Bella to discover she had tears in her eyes. She should've been a theater major. "Please?" her voice slightly cracked.

The man looked at Bella and then at the rest of us. I tried to seem as friendly and pathetic as possible, but I could feel myself failing. If only my eyes were their typical golden color- I wouldn't be as menacing then. His eyes ran back to Bella, her clothes soaked from the rain. "Fine," he sighed. "But if I have any trouble, I am calling the cops. Understand?" His words were directed towards Rosalie and myself, but he lacked the courage to look us in the eye as he said them, instead looking back and forth between Bella and Clark. I had forgotten what it felt like to strike fear into a person from just looking at them. The power- It felt good. But I had to push it down, or else it would control me.

"Oh, thank you!" Bella sniffled and grabbed the keys he held in front of us. She gave a key to Rosalie and kept the other for herself.

The room numbers on the keys revealed that our rooms were not close to one another. One room was 408 while the other was 214. Bella looked at Rosalie, giving her a pleading look. "Fine," Rosalie rolled her eyes. "Come on, half-breed," she pulled at Clark's arm and the two went to find their room on the fourth floor.

Bella sighed and shook her head. She opened the door to our room. "So I'm rethinking the whole saving Rosalie's life thing," she muttered. I laughed.

"So what was it that you wanted to tell me?" I asked, sitting at the foot of the bed while Bella sat in a nearby chair.

"I'm an awful person, Edward," she plainly stated.

I smirked, "Bella, you just saved mine and Rosalie's life. I don't think an awful person would've done that."

She shrugged.

"And you took in Clark and had faith in him when Rosalie and I didn't."

She shrugged again, "The thing with Clark...That was just me trying to atone for past sins. You two could've very well been right about him."

"And you got us a place to stay while the sun's up. Nice water works, by the way. Not too much, yet just enough to make it believable."

"Yeah, well. I wrote the book on manipulation."

I furrowed my brow. "So you don't want to talk to about, uh," I stumbled over my words. This was the first chance Bella and I had to discuss the kisses she had given me. I thought that was why she wanted to speak to me personally. Part of me feared she was going to play it off as nothing. Then part of me hoped she was going to take this time to explain that she'd grown to see me as more than a friend.

"About what?" she looked curious. I just silently looked at her and shrugged. She continued to read my face and suddenly her eyes lit up. "Oh!" she exclaimed and began to look shy, obviously she knew what I was driving at here. "Why? Do you want to talk about it?"

"Only if you do," I lied. I wanted to talk about it. I didn't care if she wanted to or not. But I wasn't going to push it. Bella replied with silence and a sigh.

"Well, I'm going to get a shower before I go to bed," she stepped towards the open curtains in the room as the sun started to peep through them. The sun illuminated the fly-aways in her hair and gave her the illusion of glowing. She pulled the curtains together, all light, save the dim glow of the bedside lamp, disappearing. "I'll be back in a few."

I nodded as she closed the bathroom door behind her. I heard the water turn on. It was incredibly hard to think about anything other than the fact that behind that door, there was a naked Bella Swan. It was something I had never gotten used to, even when I lived with her. I couldn't imagine the thought of her naked would ever not have an effect on me. Hell, just the sight of her bare legs or a hint of her breasts fixated me.

As I indulged my lustful thoughts, picturing what treasures remained hidden beneath Bella's clothing, I heard someone crying. I shifted my head to hear where it was coming from. I quickly discovered it was coming from the bathroom. Bella was crying in the shower. I wondered what was wrong.

A few moments later, Bella emerged from the bathroom, wearing nothing but a towel. I clenched my jaw in an attempt to keep my cool. Her hair was wet, and a few water droplets reflected light off her shoulder. Her face didn't look like that of a girl that had just been crying, and I wondered if it really had been her I had heard.

"Better?" I asked her, a smile on my face.

"Much," she smiled back, but I could tell it was forced. "Do you think we could send Rosalie out to get me some clothes? The ones I have were ridiculously dirty and sweaty and wet from the rain. I left them in the sink to soak in water and soap."

"Rosalie's hex is worn off," I replied. The idea that Bella didn't have any clothes to change into from that skimpy towel was exciting to me. The part of my mind that was undoubtedly male hoped for the best from this situation, but my rational side knew the chances of Bella just dropping the towel and walking around naked were miniscule. This wasn't a porn. So I began to look for a way to clothe her. "You could wear my shirt, but it's got some blood on it from earlier. How about," I looked around the room. "How do you feel about a toga?" I asked, a playful smile on my lips.

Bella actually, genuinely, laughed. "Alice has thrown a few toga parties. I can rock the toga look," she nodded. I went to the bed and stripped away the comforter to reveal the sheets. I took the sheet and pulled it off the bed. I handed it to Bella to tie around herself.

"I'm going to get a shower, too," I said, "That'll give you some privacy to get that thing tied." She nodded as she straightened out the sheet in preparation. I walked past her towards the bathroom, when in the reflection of the TV I saw her drop the towel. And just in the reflection of the TV, I saw the curves of her waist and hips and her small yet firm posterior. I inadvertently bumped into a dresser on my walk to the bathroom, as I had not been paying much attention to where I was walking, but instead focusing on the reflection of Bella's nude form. Before she could turn around or suspect anything, I hurried into the restroom and shut the door.

My entire body was tense. My muscles were tight and it was like my skin was shrinking around me. Typically I had always been able to keep my thoughts and lust under control around her. I didn't even have a hope that Bella might feel for me as more than a friend back when we lived together, plus Alice was always around. But now...No one was around. It was just us. And she had kissed me, twice. It had to mean something. It gave me hope and therefore made me feel justified in entertaining these kinds of thoughts, because now I felt that on some level, Bella wanted me as well.

When I finished my shower, I did as Bella had, putting my dirty clothes in a sink full of cold water and soap. I now only wore a plain white t-shirt and a pair of grey boxers, only slightly damp from the rain which had only just penetrated my jeans and jacket. That was a positive about being a vampire- No sweating, no smelling. I only showered to get rid of the physical dirt that built up over time. I brushed my teeth with one of the complimentary toothbrushes from the motel, giving Bella more time to figure out how to configure a toga from that massive sheet.

When I finally returned to the room, Bella was lying in bed with her eyes closed, her legs tangled up in her make-shift toga. But I could tell from her breathing pattern that she was still awake. I slid into the bed, keeping a respectable distance from her. She looked at me and smiled. "Better?"

"Much," I chuckled. Silence settled over us again. "Bella, are you okay? You've seemed unhappy ever since- Well ever since this whole thing started, but you seem particularly upset since Evangeline's."

Bella sighed and gave me a sleepy smile, her eyes looking dreamy and far-off. "I'm fine, Edward. I'm just tired, that's all." She then snuggled closer to me and breathed deeply. "I missed sleeping next to you while I was at Sophie's," she said sleepily.

"I missed you as well," I replied. It was quiet again and as her breathing steadied, I thought she'd fallen to sleep.

"How did you become a vampire?" Bella asked, breaking the stillness that had fallen over the room.

Vampires hate telling their turning stories. I hated telling mine. In fact, I don't think I'd ever told anyone. No human had ever known I was a vampire and 'mythical' beings knew how vampires felt about being asked about it, and therefore never asked. So maybe I didn't hate telling mine, seeing as I had never actually told it, but I hated even thinking about it. To think about it was to come face to face with cold facts about yourself. You were dead. You were a killer. You lost everything and everyone you loved. Even vampires who celebrated their vampirism weren't immune to the latter thought. Most vampires didn't care if they killed people or were considered dead or undead or whatever. But the loss of everything you held dear, that is something even vampires like Jasper wouldn't remember fondly.

I swallowed as I thought over it, making sure to get dates and such correct. It had been awhile since I'd thought about being turned. "Well," I began, "I was twenty-two. It was Christmas holiday during my last year of university, and I was at my parents' home in Chicago."

"When we go back you should take me to your old house," Bella interrupted me. "But go on." I smiled. I wasn't really sure if the house was still there or not.

"I had a younger sister, Claire. She was seventeen, as was her best friend Annaleigh. Anna and I were somewhat...Together," I said uncomfortably. "We weren't formally engaged or anything, but it was headed that way. Then two days before Christmas, Annaleigh disappeared. She had gone to the store, and she just didn't come back. We went out looking for her all over town and in all the suburbs, but we never found her. Then on the day after New Years, well, the night after, I was going to sleep. And I heard this tapping on my bedroom window. I looked, and it was Anna.

"I was so excited that I almost woke up the whole house when I opened the window to let her in, but she said no, that she had to show me something, that I should follow her. I noticed she wasn't wearing a coat and you know, that just doesn't fly in Chicago winters- They're brutal. So I got her a coat of mine to wear, and I climbed out the window after her.

"It was weird, she took me to the schoolyard. She had wanted to be a school teacher, so I assumed this had something to do with that, but instead we just stood there in the yard. I asked here where on earth she'd been and if her parents knew she was okay, but she ignored all my questions. She was acting a little oddly, but I didn't really think much of it. And she kissed me, which was strange because she was never very forward in her feelings for me."

"And what year was this?" Bella asked.

"1924. Anyways, she was kissing me- Alot. But suddenly, the kisses turned to bites. And there was this burning all throughout my body. Then I passed out and woke up in a coffin a few days later. She'd left my body in the schoolyard, and the next morning when passerby's saw it, I was sent to the hospital. I didn't have a pulse, and I wasn't breathing while I was changing, so they thought I was dead. Which I guess I was. But yeah, I guess Anna thought she'd completely drained me of all blood or maybe she was ran off by something, I don't know. I just know I woke up in a coffin and buried. I had to dig myself out."

Bella's eyes were wide. "That's actually scary," she said quietly. "The thought of being buried alive creeps me out so bad."

I shrugged as I pulled her closer to me, her skin smelling of soap. "All I had to do was break the coffin and dig myself out of a few feet of dirt. It wasn't really very scary. All I could think about was how thirsty I was." I paused. The next part was the hardest part. The part that made me hate myself. Bella sensed my hesitation.

"What is it?" she asked, her voice soft.

"When I dug myself out...I was just so thirsty. I couldn't think straight. I dug myself out while my mother and sister were visiting my grave, probably a day or two after my funeral. I," choked on my words. "I killed them both." Silence. "And then I left Chicago. I only came back about a year ago."

"Weren't people curious when they found their bodies drained of blood in front of a dug up grave?" Bella asked. I smiled to myself. She always seemed to be interested in the practical side of things when I told her about vampire life. The fact that I'd killed my own mother and sister seemed to be something she brushed aside or ignored all together. She was so strange.

"They probably were. There were probably tales and rumors, but it's been nearly a century since then. People forget things. Especially now, people don't really believe in things like vampires. They're too smart for that," I grinned. "Doesn't it bother you...What I did, I mean?"

She shrugged. "It was a long time ago. You're in better control of your bloodlust. And if I know you, which I think I do, I know you probably beat yourself up over it for a long time. You're a good person, Edward, no matter what mistakes you've made." She looked up at me and gave me a small reassuring smile. I felt her legs intertwining with mine.

And right then and there, I felt it for the first time. I felt the feelings that I had been developing for Bella since that night in the alley, that had been growing steadily over the past few months- I felt them turn into something more than before. There was a strange pulling sensation in my chest, almost as if I had a beating heart that was going into overdrive.

"Do you love Carlisle?" I asked, fearing the answer. Bella furrowed her brow and broke from my arms. She turned to lay on her other side. "Is that a yes?"

"No," her shoulders shrugged.

"Bella, I heard you crying in the shower. There's something wrong. Do you miss him? Is that it?"

"To be honest, I haven't had the mental energy to think about him in awhile," she replied, her tone slightly biting. The soft sleepiness in her voice was gone now. This question had awoken her, taken her by surprise.

"That doesn't answer my question," I pushed.

"What does it matter? Like, I'm in this bizarre situation. A literal life and death situation. Everything from before, it all seems so meaningless. I guess if I ever thought about Carlisle enough, I might miss him. But what he and I had...That was a matter of time. It wasn't going to last forever. I knew that. I mean, once I held out hope that we'd end up together, but when I found out he was married, I knew. I knew he'd never really be mine, and even if we did somehow end up together, how would I ever trust him?"

I sighed. "Can you just explain this situation to me? I don't want to be judgmental. I mean, I've killed people. But I don't understand how you could...Have an affair. It just doesn't fit you."

"I'm sorry if not everything about me fits into a nice little box," she replied coldly.

"Bella, I'm not trying to start something with you. I just know that I heard you crying earlier. I want to know what's wrong. Are you okay?"

She did not respond immediately, but a few seconds later turned back to face me. Her eyes were wet with tears, but she was not crying. "You put me on this ridiculous pedestal, Edward. But fine. If you want to know about Carlisle, fine. I'll tell you. He was one of my professors my freshman year. And he's young for a professor- About thirty-five...Thirty-three then. So a lot of girls think he's attractive and all that. You know. Anyway, one day I was at this little cafe near campus, studying for his class. And lo and behold, who walked in but Carlisle. He saw me, smiled, got his food, sat down at his own table and pretty much kept to himself until he got up to leave. He stopped by to talk to me on his way out.

And he was going to leave when I- I don't even know why I did it. I, oh my _God_, I can't believe I'm telling you this," Bella rubbed her face.

"If it's really this horrible for you to tell it, you don't have to," I said.

"I know. But maybe if I get it all out, it'll be better, and I can move on past this. But yeah, I actually checked to see if he had a wedding ring. Which he didn't. So I considered him fair game. So I asked him if he wanted to sit down with me. He looked apprehensive, which I expected. It wasn't exactly the most ethical position. But I- I, like, I practically pulled him in. When he hesitated, I told him not to worry, that it was just innocent. But my tone and the gleam in my eyes suggested another thing entirely. I knew it, and he knew it. He sat down with me anyway, though.

After a few meetings, we started to genuinely get along and bond. Like he told me that he was a divorcee, and that his son, Jack, had died last year, and that it was his fault. And that his wife had blamed him, and that's why their marriage fell apart."

"How was it his fault?" I asked.

"They lived in Wheaton, you know, the suburbs like an hour outside Chicago? Well, his wife, Esme, she's an art collector, so she travels a lot. Carlisle was watching Jack while she was out of town. So while he thought Jack was up in his room watching TV, Carlisle was in his study working. But Jack really loved cars, and he would sometimes play in Carlisle or Esme's in the garage. And I guess he just slipped by Carlisle's watch, got his car keys somehow, went into the garage and started up the car. He didn't try to go anywhere in it, he knew better than that. But he didn't know about, um," Bella seemed to be searching for a way to phrase it. "Carbon monoxide poisoning. The garage door was down and...Yeah. So, Carlisle told me that he and Esme split after that, and he moved to the city.

So it started out with me being in the dark about his marriage. And I really did fall for him. I thought...Here was this single, grieving man who's wife had blamed him and left him. I wanted to fix him, to save him. God, it sounds so stupid. Then I found out he was still married. I was mad at first, but I forgave him. Do you know how wrong that sounds? I forgave him for being married and lying to me. And I continued on with him." Bella sounded incredibly frustrated with herself. "And I planned how I could get him to leave Esme, despite him telling me that it wasn't an option. So I knew I had to make her leave him. So whenever I'd go to his office or his house, I'd leave something of mine behind in a place where she might find it. But she never found anything. Maybe Carlisle went over everything after I left, I don't know. And then, while you were at your 'uncle's funeral,'" Bella narrowed her eyes at me, realizing that I had been lying about that, "I went to his office for lunch. Long story short, I left a pair of underwear there. I knew that he would leave them there, because he would think I left them there for him, and Esme rarely stopped by the office. It was just a waiting game from there on out. She did eventually find them, and well, you saw what happened that night at his place. He chose her."

Bella's tears were gone now. Her face was emotionless. She looked up at me and shrugged, a defeated smile on her face.

"Quite frankly, I can't imagine you being alright with being brushed under the rug, kept secret. If you were my girlfriend, I'd want to shout it from the rooftops. You deserve better than that, Bella. You should never have to play second to anyone," I said as I looked into her chocolate brown eyes. I laid my hand on her hip. There was a stillness over us.

For the first time in the entirety of our relationship, there wasn't anything between Bella and me. She knew the truth about me, I knew the truth about her. And there was no shame between us. It was liberating. "Bella?"

"Yeah?" she breathed.

"Can I...I really want to kiss you."

"What are you waiting for then?" I heard the slight chuckle in her voice. I smiled.

I pulled her body closer to mine, her hips pressing against my own, and planted a firm kiss on her lips. When we pulled away, we were breathless. She blinked a few times, as if she was uncertain about something. And then she grabbed my face and pulled it into hers. It was fierce and passionate. Her lips were cool and tingling from the remnants of the mint toothpaste. As my tongue broke past her lips, hers ran along the length of mine before she applied a small but surprisingly pleasurable amount suction, pulling my tongue deeper into her mouth.

Her leg wrapped around my waist, and I instinctively grabbed it, running my hand from her slender calves to her toned thighs to her firm butt. She wrapped her fingers in my hair as we kissed. I felt her breasts push against my chest as she breathed heavily as we broke for air. She stared at me and swallowed. Wordlessly and without asking, Bella pulled at my shirt and threw it to the floor.

I was sure she felt the bulge in my boxers as our hips were pressed against each other. She had to know how badly I wanted her. Bella began to kiss me again, only this time her hands had wandered from my hair. She stuck her hand down into my boxers, tenderly yet forcefully stroking the length of my erection. Taking her boldness as a sign, I did what I had been wanting to do for a long time- I pulled her make-shift toga to the side, and took Bella's breasts into my hands, firmly squeezing them. I kneaded her hard and pink nipple with my thumb and index finger. Her breasts felt amazing. They were soft but firm and supple. I broke away from our kiss and moved to kiss down her neck and across her collarbone, working my way down to her breasts. I kissed between them, around them, and on them before taking a nipple to my mouth and sucking on it. I heard a small gasp escape Bella's throat, followed by a sigh of pleasure.

She continued to stroke me, her warm hands every so often leaving to lightly caress my balls. The sensation made me light-headed in the best possible way. She stopped and tugged at my underwear. I helped get them off of me, and soon the boxers were cast along the floor along with my t-shirt. Not wanting to be the only naked one, I quickly and entirely tore the white sheet from Bella's lithe body.

Seeing Bella completely naked for the first time had been better than my imaginings in the prior months. I was on my knees between her legs, taking in the sight. Her svelte collarbones, her perfect and perky breasts, the curve of her small waist and hips, her shapely legs. She had a small freckle on her hip bone. "Edward," Bella breathed, "What? What are you doing?" I shook my head and smiled as I leaned back down to kiss her. Her body was radiating warmth beneath me. Her legs were wrapped around my waist.

As I planted kisses all over Bella's chest and collarbones, I felt her grab my engorged to the point of pain cock and place it in the wet and warm sliver between her legs. I gasped, temporarily breaking from my kisses, at the feeling. She, too, gasped- The cool temperature of my skin a pleasant shock against her warm cunt. She used me to rub her clit, and her breathing began to deepen and stagger. The sound of her breathing alone was incredibly sexy.

Her heartbeat was roaring in my ears, and was almost twice its normal speed. I could feel her body tensing beneath me the more she played with herself using my member. I pulled away from a kiss and looked down to see it- And seeing it only added to the sensation. I couldn't take it anymore. It was like she was teasing me. I'd been waiting for this for months, and I couldn't wait a minute longer. "Bella," I looked at her. She was biting her lip, her head tilted back only slightly. Her breasts were heaving from her heavy breaths. "Bella, I want you."

She replied with a quick and firm nod, "I want you, too," she was close to breathless.

Bella's hands guided me to her waiting hole. I slowly pushed into her, the sensation unlike anything I'd ever experienced. I'd had sex with vampires- Never with a human. This was other-worldly. She was so hot and wet and tight. I gained speed and power in my thrusting, trying to remind myself that she _was_ human, that I needed to hold back at least somewhat. But it was hard- I'd never wanted anyone as much as I'd wanted Bella, and no vampire woman had ever been as soft and warm as she.

I felt Bella tighten around me as I slid in and out of her. "Edward," she moaned. "Oh god, Edward!" I simply grunted in reply as I continued to thrust. "Harder, Edward! Harder!" Hearing Bella Swan yell my name during sex was a fantasy come true. I wanted to fuck her harder, but in the back of my mind there was still the fear of losing control and hurting her. "Please, Edward!" Oh god, she was begging. I threw caution to the wind as I pulled out of her and then quickly rammed back into her, my thrusts this time being as hard and as fast as I- and Bella for that matter- wanted.

"Oh god, oh god, oh god!" Bella yelled, and I felt her walls begin to spasm around me. I looked from her body to her face- Her eyes were closed, head tilted back, and she was biting her lip as a muffled moan escaped her mouth. The sight of Bella orgasming because of me was too much for me to handle, and I reached the point of no return. My entire body tingled, and I felt a pulsating in my hips and cock. I closed my eyes tightly as I pumped in out of Bella as fast as I could, yet still without all my force- I did not want to hurt her. Instead I held to her arms and gripped them as I came.

My thrusts became slower and more shallow as I finished. I placed my lips on Bella's neck, feeling her now normal heartbeat. I completely pulled out of her before collapsing next to her.

After recovering, I looked to Bella, who was smiling. I grinned at her and narrowed my eyes, "So is this why you wanted a room with just you and me?" I joked.

She innocently shrugged and smiled, a playful glimmer in her eyes. "Of course. It's been my grand plan to get you in bed for awhile now."

**A/N: I just want to say writing a sex scene from Edward's point of view when he's fairly similar to book Edward is ridiculously difficult. Like using words like cock, pussy, etc...Just totally NOT Edward. So writing this was like trying to write a sex-ed textbook, haha. Yet I wanted it to be slightly sexy, cause HELLO...Haha. Plus I've always found writing sex scenes really awkward...Because when you're having sex, you're totally not thinking like this. And I'm just not very good at it, so! Haha. IDK. It's weird. Anyways. Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter up. I've been kinda busy. And I saw New Moon...How did you guys like it? I really enjoyed it. But yeah...I'm thinking next chapter is back to Alice/Jasper, so get excited ^_^ And random question...My last chapter has like 400 views...And I'm wondering, do you guys like read chapters multiple times while waiting for the next or do I just have 400 different people read my chapters?**


	32. Chapter 32

**JASPER**

I hadn't even opened my eyes yet, but I could feel the fear in the room. I didn't want to open my eyes. I didn't want to know what was going on. It couldn't be good. When I finally gathered the energy to raise my heavy lids, I discovered the source of the fear to be Alice. She was sitting across the room from me. The room was bright as the sun streamed in through a window under which I sat. I sat in the shadow of the wall, the light not hitting me, which was just as well, considering what I would look like in the sunlight.

"It's about goddamn time," Alice said once she noticed I was awake.

"Where are we?" I asked her, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. "What happened?"

"James and that hunter girl and some other vampire are keeping us here. You've been out for a day or two," Alice tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. She stood up and approached me. "But now you're up. And you can take me home, _right_?"

I stood as well and looked around, "I can try." The room was fairly large and painted a soft grey. Above us was an old and out-of-use chandelier. There were no furnishings. Just Alice. My body was sore and bruised. "What happened to me again?" I looked to Alice as I rubbed my shoulder.

"The girl shot you with an arrow. I pulled it out. It's right here if you want it."

"No, no. That's okay," I held up my hands in protest. I felt awkward with Alice now. Her fear was replaced with a soft anger, and I recalled my memories of having finally confessed the truth of our situation to her. "So are you still mad at me?" I asked dumbly.

She narrowed her eyes at me, "Call me insane, but it takes me more than a few hours to get over the fact that you planned to kill me or turn me into a vampire. I don't really know if it's something I will really ever get over. So I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for my forgiveness if I were you."

"Doesn't the fact that I was honest with you count for something?" I asked as I surveyed the room, continuing to look for a way out. Other than the window, there was no entrance or exit. It was quite bizarre.

"Nope," Alice replied in a matter-of-fact tone. "However, I might be more inclined to not hate you and move towards feelings of cold indifference if you hurried up and got us the hell out of here."

I rolled my eyes with my back to her. "Well, I'm assuming you saw how they brought us in here. Care to tell me?"

"They knocked me out. I haven't seen them since they got us at the house. I woke up in here, just like you. Can't you just break the window?"

"I thought of that, but I don't want to make a noise. They might hear us. But," I looked up at the window, "I guess it might be our only option. Although truth be told, I don't know if I can fit through that."

"You don't have to. I do."

"What?" I asked, confused.

"You escaping this place is of little importance to me. It's not like you have anything to escape for. I have a family. Friends. I need out of here, not you," Alice replied coldly. The more time went on, the angrier Alice seemed to be. I thought with time, she'd realized that I didn't have to tell her the truth, but I had anyways because I cared about her and didn't want to lie to her. But now it seemed like she was just stewing in it; that her anger was festering and becoming worse over time.

I was silent for a beat. "Fine," I stood beneath the window and jumped up to it, gripping the sill. A burning electricity flowed through my body. I quickly let go of the sill and fell down to the floor. "Christ," I shook my hands.

"What is it?" Alice came closer to have a look. The charred flesh make her step back. "Oh my god. Ew! What did that?" she looked up at the window sill.

"I don't know," I replied. The burn was worse than silver. "But I'm thinking we should probably get comfortable."

"You're giving up? Just like that?"

"No," I replied in an exasperated tone. "I'm going to wait to see how James and Evangeline get in and out of here. Then we can plan our escape."

So I sat back down on the concrete floor and began to wait. Alice continued to keep her distance from me and sat with legs and arms crossed. We sat in angry silence.

I couldn't stand it. So I cheated. I manipulated her emotions.

"I can feel what you're doing, Jasper. Stop it," she demanded. "You can make me feel happy all you want, but I still know the truth, and I still know how I really feel about it."

She had a point. Humans' emotions and words rarely match up. Someone can be ridiculously angry, but keep it hidden and go on with life as if deliriously happy. So Alice could emotionally be in a pleasant mood, but intellectually, she still knew her situation, and her words could still respond to that, even if her emotions didn't match up.

"I'll stop if you at least pretend to be nice," I replied. "Or else I won't help you get out of here."

"You're lying."

"Wanna bet?" I mocked her and crossed my arms and legs in the same position as she.

"Fine. I'll be nice."

"What did the other vampire look like?" I asked Alice, now remembering she had mentioned another vampire with James and Evangeline.

Alice shrugged, "Just a guy. Brown hair, red eyes, pale skin. The usual."

I wondered why Evangeline and Finn had paired up with James and this other vampire. I wondered if they had Edward and Rosalie, and if they did, why hadn't they sent word they had them?

"I'm sort of glad you told me the truth," Alice said suddenly. "At least this way once I get back to my family I won't constantly be wanting to be with you. This really was the best way to make the break clean."

"No problem," I mumbled, seeing that Alice was taking the back-handed way to niceness.

"No, I mean it. I was genuinely upset that if I went home I wouldn't get to see you much anymore. I don't have the problem now."

"I get, Alice," I spat. "Just lay off it, okay? I admitted that what I did was wrong, and I apologized, and now I'm trying to make it right, so I don't know what else you want from me! Cause I'm doing all I fucking can, okay?!"

"I want you to feel worse than you already do. I want you to feel as betrayed and as hurt as I do," Alice said.

"Fuck off," I rolled my eyes. I was starting to remember more and more the fact that Alice was a human, and I was a vampire. I didn't have to put up with her bullshit. I began to combat the fact that I cared about Alice and her feelings. Who was I trying to fool? I hadn't cared about anyone for a long time. I wasn't really capable of changing that now, especially for some petulant human girl. "If you want to be mad at me, fine, go ahead. I don't care. I did everything I could. I'm done with the situation. The rest of it is just you and how you want to handle your side of things. As far as I'm concerned, none of this is my problem anymore."

Alice looked insulted and remained quiet. Good. If she was just going to be a bitch, I'd rather she not talk at all.

I sat in the shadow of the wall, just out of reach of the sunbeam. Suddenly I heard something breaking, followed by shards of glass raining on me. "What the hell?" I muttered as I stood up and looked to see what was going on. A small child wriggled through the window and jumped the thirteen-fifteen foot jump to the floor of the room. "Who the hell are you?" I looked at him. Alice was on her feet now, too.

The boy looked to be around twelve and had dirty blonde hair. I couldn't hear his heartbeat or breathing. And I couldn't feel his emotions when I looked for them. It was a hunter child. Something was strapped to his back, a closer look revealed that something to be his weapons pouch. I immediately backed away from him.

"Alice!" a feminine voice squealed from above us. I looked up to see a girl- A human with her brown hair pulled into a ponytail and large brown eyes.

Alice's eyes widened, "Bella!" she exclaimed. And suddenly I could hear both human girls' frantic heartbeats in my ears. "Oh my god, Bella! How did you find us?!"

"Are you okay?" Bella called.

Alice stumbled over her words before spitting out, "Yes, I'm fine! Oh my god, oh my god," Alice repeated. The look on her face was the happiest I'd ever seen her.

"You guys aren't even tied up," the kid looked around. "What's keeping you in here?"

"The window is laced with something. I can't touch it. It's the only way out...That we know of, at least," I replied, continuing to keep my distance from the hunter child.

"Come on, let's go," I turned to see Rosalie poking her head in through the window as well. I saw her preparing to jump.

"You don't want to do that," I began, but it was too late. She had jumped down and was now standing beside me. "Or maybe you do," I sarcastically muttered. "Just so you know, you can't get out of here now, the sill is laced with something that burns us. I can't hold on to climb through the window. So I hope you enjoy what you see, because we're going to be in here for a long while."

Rosalie looked to the boy, and I wondered in what universe this was happening. "Can you jump that high, Clark?"

Clark, as he was apparently called, looked shy as he admitted he could not. "What?" I asked. "Hunters are just as physically capable as vampires."

"I'm not a full-blooded hunter. Half normal human, half hunter human."

"You had to just pick up a useless hunter, didn't you?" I looked at Rosalie. "I'm assuming Edward's up there?" I glanced at the window where Bella had been, but she was gone now.

"Edward and Bella went around to look for another entrance. I've looked for one already, but Edward won't believe me until he sees for himself that this is it. You know how he is," Rosalie rolled her eyes.

"I should've known you would lead him to us," I shook my head at her.

"Well aren't you glad I did? He's going to bust you out of here. Then he's probably going to kill you."

I laughed, "Yeah, I'm sure Edward will be moved to angry and murderous violence."

"I'm Alice," Alice stuck her hand out to Rosalie, interrupting our reunion. Her green eyes flickered up to Rosalie, who was nearly a foot taller than Alice.

"Rosalie," Rosalie raised an eyebrow in Alice's direction and did not shake her hand.

I felt a funny thing then. Coming from Alice. It was small, but it was distinct. Alice was jealous. I smirked.

"Yeah, Rosalie and I go way back," I haphazardly draped an arm around Rosalie's shoulders. Rosalie made a disgusted face and shrugged me off. Alice just rolled her eyes at me and turned away.

There was then a sudden noise- The sound of struggle. It was coming from above us. Within seconds, Edward and James came crashing through the ceiling, fighting with one another.

Immediately, I went to help Edward, but was grabbed by the throat and thrown to the ground. I looked up to see the vampire Alice had described earlier- Brown hair, red eyes, pale skin. The usual.

I quickly stood up and fought back, trying to get a handle on the man's head. I just needed to get in position to snap his neck. Decapitation would come easy after that.

But this vampire was young. He was not quite a newborn, but was much stronger than me. But I was older and more skilled. I threw a few punches, breaking his jaw and nose. The dark violet blood of vampires was streaming from his nose, sputtering onto the white t-shirt as he breathed. That was not enough to stop him, of course, and he continued to rain punches down upon me. My body was starting to feel haggard. Fighting back was the instinct, but after a certain point I felt incapable. I had a hit every now and then, but even the skill that came with my age wasn't enough to make up for the strength and agility of his youth.

Out of the corner of my eye, just before my opponent landed his fist square on my brow bone, thus crushing it into small pieces, I saw Evangeline fighting Rosalie. Edward and James were still rumbling. I looked up and saw Laurent, watching all of this like it was some schoolyard fight. I made a mental note to kill him if I somehow made it out of this.

"Edward!" I heard Bella's screams in my ears, "Get off of him!" she yelled at James. "Clark, do something! Kill them!"

Clark stumbled over his words, unconfident in his abilities. I wished I had the time to concentrate on making him more confident. Or my opponent more docile. Or to get Bella to shut the fuck up.

I threw my opponent across the room, landing him against the wall, causing the room to shake. As I made my way over to him, I saw Alice standing in the corner, silent. Her eyes were wide and body motionless. She was frozen.

I heard a yelp. It was Rosalie. Evangeline used something on her, and now she was lying on the ground motionless. _Shit._ We were unevenly matched now. Me and Edward versus Evangeline, James, No-Name, and possibly Laurent.

Evangeline set her eyes squarely on me after watching Rosalie fall. She smiled, and I knew she was looking forward to this more than anything. I started to slightly panic. I knew there was no way I could take on Evangeline and No-Name at the same time, I was having a hard enough time avoiding decapitation as it was.

I don't know if it was because I entered a new frame of mind or what, but suddenly I didn't hear anything around me. No human heart beats, no Bella yelling, no ragged breaths from fighting. No, it was just silent as I watched Evangeline approach me. And in that moment, I decided to stop watching her approach me, and instead approach- No, attack her.

I lunged at her with all the force in my body, sending us both to the floor. I grab her wrists and try to wrestle her into a submissive position. I tried to sit on her arms, pinning her down with knees. I succeeded for a brief moment before No-Name pulled me away from her. His hands were in prime position to break my neck, then rip my head off. I grabbed his hands away from my head, swinging him over my body. The crash of his body onto the floor causes the ground to tremor. He immediately stood up, but wobbled, clearly dazed from the hit.

I ran toward him in this moment of weakness, placing my hands on the back of his head and under his jaw. In an instant, I snapped his neck. But before I could rip off his head, Evangeline hit me over the head with something, not actually hurting me but distracting me for a brief moment. I turned around to face her, realizing I had to make this fast- With his head still connected to his body, No-Name's broken neck would begin to heal and I'd be back to fighting both him and Evangeline.

But Evangeline was exceptionally strong for a hunter- Not that I had ever fought one in hand-to-hand combat, but I expected them to at least be slightly easier to fight off. Evangeline was brutal and before I knew it, she had me pinned in an inescapable position. With my face pressed against the floor, I laid my cheek on the ground, my face turned towards Alice. Her eyes seemed desperate and frightened. I continued to struggle to escape Evangeline, but it was no use. I couldn't move.

In my peripheral vision I saw Edward and James still fighting. I was impressed that Edward had enough fight in him to keep up with James. As their scuffle moved closer to Alice, my anxiety grew. If she came got mixed up in this, there was no possibility she'd come out alive. James hit Edward in the chest, knocking him to the ground. James caught my eye and smiled.

Then I did something stupid. Incredibly and mind-numbingly stupid.

I glanced at Alice.

James followed my glance. He then looked at me, seeing I was incapacitated. I heard a slight laugh under his breath. He looked to Edward, whom I was still lying on the ground, dazed.

This was his chance.

"No!" I yelled as I saw him run towards her. It felt like time had stopped, but it couldn't have been more than two seconds. "Edward! Rosalie! Do something! Stop him!" I tried to free myself from Evangeline.

"Alice! Run!" I screamed at her dumbly. Even if she ran, it wasn't going to save her.

Alice barely had time to register what was going on before James had her pinned beneath him on the ground. She hadn't even began to struggle before he sunk his teeth into the exposed flesh right above her collarbone. Her high pitched scream of pain rang in my hears. This was a nightmare. Worse still, her screaming was fading as James continued to drain her small body of blood. She was barely bigger than child, it wouldn't take him very long.

Just as Alice's screams were fading, I found one escaping my own mouth as Evangeline dug something into my back. Her hands went into the familiar position around my jaw and head as she prepared to break my neck.

The unnamed vampire had healed and was stalking towards Alice. Edward, too, had recovered and pulled James away from Alice, leaving my view of her unobstructed. The pressure of Evangeline's fingertips on my skin was mounting, when suddenly there was a strange sound in the air, followed by Evangeline's body slumping and falling next to me. Her eyelids flickered at me as she laid on the ground, odorous hunter blood pooling between us.

It took a moment for me to realize what had was happening. I could move, despite the horrific pain in my back. I looked to see what had gotten Evangeline. It was Bella. With a gun in her hand and her eyes wide. I wondered where the hell she had gotten a gun, but there was no time for questions. I sat up, immediately taking stock of what was happening.

Rosalie was knocked out. Evangeline was dead, or hopefully so. Edward and James were going at it. And No-Name was feeding from Alice.

Instantly I rushed at him, sneaking behind him, snapped his neck once again, but this time I immediately ripped the head off as I broke the neck, not wanting to take the chance of something interrupting me.

"Alice, Alice," I said to her as I leaned over her. The scent of her blood permeated the room, and I knew it wasn't long before James and Edward took notice. I thought about the last time I had fed. A few days ago. I wasn't that thirsty. I could resist her. James _could_ probably, but it was more a matter of _would_ he? Edward- He hadn't had human blood in decades. This was sure to send him into some kind of frenzy. No matter. I would kill him if need be. "Alice," I looked at her green eyes. "Can you hear me? Squeeze my hand if you can hear me."

Suddenly her eyes widened and she squeezed my hand ridiculously hard as she began to scream. The venom- It was in her system now. She was turning. In a little while she would be one of us.

Unless I did something.

**A/N: Sorry it's been SOO RIDICULOUSLY long since I last updated. I've just been slammed with school work. But I'm on holiday now, so I should be updating more ****often. I have a personal goal to be done with this story by January 13th. However, IDK if that goal will be reached or not, lol. BUT, I think it will because I only have like 5 chapters absolutely max left for this story. After this I'm going to work on the story that I had started but abandoned...It's going to get a total overhaul. Then after I finish that, I will write the sequel to this. Anywho. Thanks for all your kind and lovely reviews, hope you enjoy :) Also, I think there was some confusion on the timeline of events, as people thought that the time B/E spent imprisoned that J/A were also imprisoned...B/E were imprisoned while J/A were getting to know each other...I made a timeline and posted it in my profile so people can get a better handle on the events..So yeah. THANKS :3**


	33. Chapter 33

**EDWARD**

Bella and I crept around the corner of the house as we looked for another entrance other than the window. Her elevated heartbeat gave away Bella's fear, while her face remained calm and brave. I toyed with the idea of pretending to see something and jump to scare her, but now was not the time to be playful.

I held a finger to my lips to remind her to be quiet. She nodded as she stood behind me.

After the motel, Rosalie had tracked to Jasper's old hide out in Mississippi. We could still smell Jasper and Rosalie- But in addition to their scents, I smelled something that was burnt in my mind. The smell of Evangeline's sickly sweet perfume, mixed with the scent of the cloves she smoked whenever she was finished torturing us. It would be a smell I'd never forget no matter how long I went on into eternity.

Admittedly, Rosalie and I were not too excited to go hunting down Evangeline after just having been tortured and imprisoned by her for the past month. But we had Clark with us now, he knew some tricks, and we would have the element of surprise on our side. That had to be worth something.

Finding Jasper imprisoned along with Alice was unexpected and made me suspicious. And for that reason I was not going to just jump down into that room with them. Bella and I would find a real entrance to this place.

As we circled the building for maybe the third time, Bella's heart rate was slowing. I assumed the fear was decreasing, as we had been at this for a bit and nothing had happened.

"Why don't we just go back? Pull them up through the window and be done with it?" Bella whispered to me.

"Maybe we should," I shrugged. "Wait." I saw something. It was a door disguised as a pillar melded into the stone wall of the rather large house. I slowly pulled it open, so as to not make any noise.

"Whoa," Bella murmured.

I took a step inside the house, my eyes adjusting to the dim lights. I grabbed Bella's arm and pulled her inside with me, as she was hesitant. The house was fairly sparse, but was decorated in a surprisingly modern style, despite the exterior being quite Gothic. The curtains were closed, only tiny slithers of sunlight coming in. The sunlight.

I forgot how I looked to Bella right now. After the day Bella and I had spent in the motel together, we had gotten slightly carried away and had stayed through the night as well. I had offered for us to stay till the day was over, but Bella was insistent that we find Alice immediately. She didn't care if she had to look at me in my monstrous form.

It took some convincing to get Rosalie to go out in the light of day without a hex, but we had finally managed.

But Rosalie and I both still preferred not to be seen like this. Rosalie because of her vanity, me because I knew it couldn't possibly be attractive to Bella. I knew she wasn't shallow and that her feelings for me wouldn't change because of having to look at me while I looked like this, but still- I hated being reminded of the vast differences between Bella and myself. So I took solace in being indoors now and away from the glare of the sun. It was almost twilight.

"Doesn't look like anyone lives here," Bella said in a normal volume of voice.

But Bella was wrong. I heard people talking, with the radio on faintly in the background. They weren't terribly close by, but just within my hearing range. "Sh!" I hushed Bella. I was at a loss as to what to do with Bella. I knew vampires would probably be able to hear her breathing and heartbeat if she got close enough. Hell, she was probably close enough now. "Stay here," I said to her quietly.

"What?" she whispered back, "I'm not staying alone anywhere in here!"

"Can you please just trust me?"

She rolled her eyes and nodded. I looked for a place to at least put her out of view in the event of a vampire strolling through here. I hid her behind a curtain. It was the best I could do on short notice.

I gave her a slow and soft kiss before dropping the curtain back over her and following the voices.

The voices led me to a door. I looked under the door to see a flight of wooden stairs. I silently opened the door and descended the stairs, the voices growing louder and louder. The stairs didn't go far down- The basement Alice and Jasper were in was significantly deeper in the earth. The steps ended at landing. I turned a sharp corner and was greeted by another door. This door was cracked and the voices were perfectly clear.

I heard Evangeline's unmistakable voice- Soft and misleadingly gentle. I heard James'- Blunt and vulgar. I peered through the crack and saw the two of them, sitting across from one another at a large round table, as well as Laurent, although he was focusing more on the television than he was their conversation.

They were talking about Clark.

"He's probably bled out by now," James leaned back in his chair, his hands behind his head. "I knocked his head on that counter pretty good."

"He was a shit hunter. Although I guess it was because he was half regular human. Can you believe that?" Evangeline rolled her eyes. Seeing Evangeline do anything other than torture someone was a strange sight.

"Looks just like his fucking father," James seemed disgusted by the thought.

"And you would know what his father looks like how?"

"Cause I knew him! About thirty years ago, I had a thing for a human girl. We had a good thing for a little while, but then she met a hunter, and she pretty much forgot about me. It made me so mad, I wanted to kill her, but I still cared about her, so I didn't...At least not right away. When Jasper let me lead the way and pick a place to stay the first night we had Alice, well, we headed down towards where I knew she lived..And tracking is my gift, so I just used it to find her. I'd been meaning to do it for awhile, but had always just gotten distracted. So I tracked her down, I killed her- The rest killed her kids and husband. I thought we'd gotten them all, but I guess the kid hid or something, and since we can't hear or sense hunters, we missed him. But when I saw him in your kitchen, I knew who he was. He looked just like that goddamn piece of shit father of his."

"But you said that was thirty years ago, Clark is like twelve."

"I'm guessing Clark is the product of an affair."

Evangeline laughed. "You were in love with a human and now you're about to kill Jasper for it. That's rich."

My mind sorted through what I'd just heard. I ignored the soap opera that was apparently James' past love life, which did honestly shock me, and focused on the Jasper part. Jasper in love with a human? There was no way. They must have known I was listening and were just playing with me now. Jasper couldn't even fall in love with a vampire, much less a human.

"Lost?" a voice said from behind me. I spun around to see a vampire I did not recognize.

"Trip? Is that you?" James called and within a second had pulled open the door and was staring at me.

As Evangeline looked over James' shoulders her eyes grew large. "How the hell are you here?!" she demanded. "I left you rotting in a fucking prison cell."

Despite the fact that direct eye contact with Evangeline made me feel sick to my stomach and a slight stinging sensation all over my body, I gathered every bit of brazen courage to reply to her. "Guess it'll take more than that to stop me."

"I already made the mistake of letting you live once, I have no plans on repeating that," Evangeline went for her weapons which were hanging off the back of her chair.

"Now, wait, Evangeline," James stopped her. "Edward is an old friend of mine. And more than a friend, he's a smart guy. I think he could be persuaded to maybe help us with Jasper."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You're the only person I've ever met that was even mildly successful at resisting his powers. We have plans to, uh, end Jasper and his little girlfriend. But obviously it will be hard, seeing as how he can control our emotions. It's hard to kill someone you don't want to kill. You know?"

"You're crazy if you think I'll help you kill Alice. I came all this way to save her," I looked at James in disbelief that he was stupid enough to suggest that, and puzzled at his reference to Alice as Jasper's girlfriend. Maybe he was just being facetious.

"Fine. Don't help us. But I would like to see you fight off Evangeline and Trip there. And after we're done with you, we'll just kill Alice anyway. I mean, it's the rational thing to do- Helping us, that is. Alice dies either way, but one way you get to stay alive, or whatever it is that we are."

My mind flashed to Bella hiding behind the curtain. Killing Alice was not a real option- I did not even really consider it. But if I did die today, where would Bella go? What would she do? Would they find her? Would she be able to get away?

So maybe the thought of killing Alice did then cross my mind. As horrible as it was, Bella's safety was my main priority. Alice's second. I knew if I did kill Alice, Bella would never want anything to do with me ever again. Bella and I would be over before we'd even really been given a chance to begin. But Bella's well-being was more important.

"Can you give me a day to think about it?"

"Why?"

Because I wanted to go back to get Bella, and take her back to civilization. Then Rosalie and I- maybe even Clark- could rescue Alice.

"Because Alice is a close friend. I can't just go kill her."

"Oh, god, Edward. You're a fucking vampire. Killing is what you fucking _do._ It doesn't require drawn out thought and planning. You go up to her, bite her, drink her blood, and bam. It's over," James pressed.

"And how the hell have you convinced her to help you in not only killing a vampire, but a human? Isn't that slightly against everything hunters believe in?" I asked, deflecting James. Because I knew he was right. All I had to do was let a different side, a side I kept repressed most of the time, take over, and killing Alice would be simple. I could do it without batting a lash. Sure, afterwards my conscience would bug me, but at the time of actually killing Alice, it would come naturally.

"I'll admit initially I was not at ease with the idea," Evangeline replied. "But he promised me things in return. Plus, despite being a hunter, I am a human, too. He has a gun that he keeps on him at all times. He can kill me." A scan of Evangeline's thoughts told me that what James had promised was Trip's life. He would get to kill Alice and Jasper, while she got Trip and Jasper- the latter of which being a joint hatred, apparently.

I heard a distinct sound. A soft murmur of a heartbeat, but the only thoughts I could read were those of James and Trip. A human was around. A human who's thoughts I could not hear. And the smell was undeniably Bella's. She must have gotten curious and looked around the house.

My mind raced as I thought of what to do. I had to distract them before they realized a human was nearby, if they hadn't already.

I just lunged at James with all the force I could muster. Both of us were sent crashing to the floor, which broke beneath us. We fell to the room under us, which coincidentally was the same room where Jasper, Alice, Rosalie and Clark were waiting.

Jasper tried to come to my aid as James and I fought, but Trip pulled him away.

I heard the crack of bones and I looked quickly to see that it was Bella. I was not sure whether she had jumped or if Laurent had pushed her down into the room with us, but either way, she had landed on her feet, and the force had apparently been too much for the bones in her shins. She sank to the floor, yelling in pain.

As James and I brawled, some black object fell from the waistband of his pants, but I did not have the time to look to see what it was. I hadn't fought anyone in a long while, I was out of practice, and despite being younger than James, I wasn't very good at it.

After a few punches, though, I started to get back into the swing of things and fighting came easily- Or as easily as it could while be pummeled in the face and body repeatedly.

I saw that Trip was recovering from the beating Jasper had given him, however Jasper was currently pinned down by Evangeline, who I saw was preparing to cut him with a knife she had laced in some sort of liquid.

Then James kicked me in the chest, sending me backwards. I landed on the back of my head and things went fuzzy for a bit. I heard screams, both feminine and masculine. I heard frantic yelling. Chaos.

As I regained full ability, I saw James feeding from Alice. Her legs kicked beneath him. Without thinking I ran to Alice and pulled James away from her. I wanted to help her, but I knew the best way to help her now was to put an end to James. I grabbed him by the legs and swung him towards the wall opposite us.

I tried desperately to get into a position where ripping off a limb would give me more time to rip off James' head.

Then I heard something that sounded like a gunshot. Both James and I momentarily turned our heads towards its source. It was Bella. I quickly realized that the black object that had fallen from the waistband of James' pants was the gun, which Evangeline had said he kept on his person at all time, and Bella had crawled to get it.

But my gaze at Bella lingered too long, and I quickly felt the impact of blunt force to my face. James had thrown a solid punch, and I felt my own blood start to pour from my nose. He grinned.

A strange thing happened then. Actually, it wasn't strange it all. It was to be expected, really. The sweet, metallic smell of human blood wafted by us. It obviously had more hold over James than it did me. I tried to use this to my advantage, as he continued to attempt fighting me, but was too distracted to be effective. But it was getting to me as well. I had just tasted human blood a few days ago, in fact I could still taste it. The memory was sharp and powerful and it was all I could do to fight it.

In fact, I couldn't fight it. James and I gave each other a quick glance before running towards Alice's petite body. I hoped that Jasper's trust in me would make him go for James in terms of who to fight. Then I would get Alice's blood.

I could hear Jasper's thoughts. He did not suspect me of coming to kill Alice. I guess years of being a coward for all those years did pay off- No one suspected me of anything evil. He was, however, quite ready to have a go at it with James, and proactively ran to meet him before he got to Alice's body.

I lifted Alice up to me, and I placed my mouth on the wound right above her collarbone. The skin was still warm, as was the blood as it pooled in my mouth and went down my throat.

I'd barely gotten a few gulps down before I felt someone grab me by the back of my collar and pull me away. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" it was Rosalie's voice. I didn't care. I'd fight Rosalie for this. I'd kill Rosalie for this. I turned around and quickly broke her arm. Her face was shocked, but she grabbed me with her other arm and pulled me further from Alice.

"Are you really going to do this?" she yelled at me.

"Let me go," I struggled against her. Rosalie was deceptively stronger than what her lithe frame suggested.

"Edward, Edward," she tried to calm me, "Listen to me. Listen to me. You went without human blood for a long time, you don't need Alice's. In fact, you just fed a few days ago. You're not even that hungry yet. You'll hate yourself if you do this." She was trying to reason with me, but it only made me angrier, and I knew soon she was going to pull the card that if I had been in a sound state of mind, would've stopped me. But being in the state I was right now, it would only infuriate me more. She held me in a tight hug, so tight I couldn't move.

I watched Jasper killed James, but not without some help from Clark first, who shot him with an arrow, which I suspected only knocked him out. Jasper then ripped James limb from limb. When he was done, there were six pieces of James lying on the concrete floor.

I was still fighting Rosalie's grasp. "Think of Bella," she whispered. She had finally played the Bella card. I wanted to kill her almost as much as I wanted to drain the life from Alice Brandon's tiny body. I began to resist Rosalie even more, thrashing about to get out from Rosalie's death grip. "I'm only semi-sorry for this, Edward," Rosalie said. I didn't care what she was apologizing for. I wanted her to let me go.

An intense heat began to form in my neck. The heat then transformed to a debilitating pain, and I immediately fell to the floor. "Rosalie!" I clenched my teeth. "What the hell?"

Rosalie let go of me and walked towards Evangeline's body. She held her breath as she went through her pockets, eventually producing a lighter. "Jasper, get all that debris from the ceiling falling in together, we have to burn these bodies."

"Rosalie, Alice, she's turning, what do I do?" Jasper looked frantically between Rosalie and Alice.

"I have good self control, being around human blood. But I can't drain her blood of the venom. I'm not _that_ good," she replied as she gathered up the wood to make a fire. "We're going to need something super flammable, this fire is going to take forever to catch. And you have like probably a day before you absolutely can't do anything to help her. You have like ten minutes before these dead vampires start putting themselves back together and come back with a vengeance. Okay?"

"I can't just leave her here while I go look for fucking gasoline," Jasper spat.

"Fine, I'll go look for it. But you have to fix Bella. Her legs are broken or something."

As I still laid on the floor in absolute pain, the scent of Alice's blood was still ridiculously strong, but I was too weak to stand fight for it. So I simply began to get used to it. It was still painful and made me ache, but I could keep my bloodlust to a proper level. I looked to see Bella just lying on her back. I knew she was awake, I could see her blinking, her dark lashes rising and falling. "Bella? Are you okay?" I said through the pain.

Jasper glanced at Alice, and then made his way towards Bella. "Here," he bit open his wrist, "Drink it." Familiar with the routine after having drank Rosalie's blood about a month ago, Bella whole-heartedly drank from his wrist. He didn't let her linger like Rosalie had, and pulled away after just enough to heal her broken bones.

"Thanks," she muttered. She sat up for a few minutes. Then she stood, wobbly at first, but steady after a few seconds. She walked over to me.

"Are you okay?" I asked again.

She sat down besides me and nodded, her face emotionless. She held my hand.

"By the way, there's something on my neck, can you take it off for me?"

"No. I saw you try to kill Alice, Edward. Rosalie took something from Evangeline's little kit or whatever. I know it's the only thing keeping you from killing Alice or even me right now. So I'm sorry you're in so much pain at the moment, but it's for the best," Bella patted my hand and gave me an apologetic smile. I wanted to be angry, and I'm sure some part was, but I realized she was right and didn't complain. The pain was getting to be manageable. Or maybe it was because Bella was by my side now, as horribly sappy as that sounded.

Jasper sat by Alice's side. _I could try to drain the venom. But I don't think I could stop. But I love her, I should be able to stop if I love her, shouldn't I? Rosalie isn't confident enough to do __it. Edward's gone batshit insane, he can't do it. I have to do it. It has to be me. I'm the only one with enough incentive to actually stop. _

Rosalie returned after having only been gone two or three minutes, pouring gasoline all over the pile of rubble. "Okay, we have to get out of here. This place is going to go up in flames," she announced.

Rosalie carried Clark and Bella on her back as she jumped up to the hole in the ceiling and climbed out into the remaining bits of floor. She took them outside, as Jasper did with Alice. Rosalie then returned for me. She was mad at me for having tried to kill Alice, which made me mad at her, because you would think she would understand bloodlust. She carried me as I was still in pain outside. Clark, Bella, Alice, and myself all sat on the grass outside the house, as Jasper stood behind Alice, while Rosalie went back to light the bodies on fire.

When she returned, Jasper was back on the topic of Alice. I hated to seem so bitter and flippant about it all, especially because I cared about Alice so much. But the pain in my neck was coming back with a vengeance and I couldn't even make small movements. I closed my eyes tightly and breathed through gritted teeth.

"Rosalie, maybe he'll be better now. We are outside, and she's not bleeding as much," Bella said as she watched my paralyzed form lie on the ground. She looked to Jasper to read my emotions. I was positive that after this I would not have the energy to even think about standing, much less trying to kill anyone. Jasper nodded, he knew I wasn't going to hurt Alice. Rosalie made the pain stop and I sighed in relief.

"So, either of you feeling confident enough to suck the venom out of her?" Jasper looked at Rosalie and me, hopeful that we were. Both of us shook our heads.

Jasper knelt down to the ground, directly over Alice's now ashen face. He leaned his face in closer to her, his lips growing closer to the spot where James had bitten her. Her heart was just barely beating and her breaths were few and far between.

"I can't do it," Jasper drew up. "I'll kill her, I know I will."

"Well what can we do then?" Bella was worried as she looked at me. "We have to do something!"

Rosalie, Jasper, and I looked between ourselves. None of us was positive we could do it, and none of us was willing to risk killing her. Plus, between James, Trip, and myself all feeding from her, she was probably mostly venom at this point anyway. There probably wasn't much blood to clean, and any we sucked out to drain of venom would probably end up killing her.

The house had quickly become engulfed in flames.

By the glow of the fire, we stood at the edge of the forest as we watched as Alice Brandon became something entirely new.

**A/N: Woop. Two more chapters to go! :D Then maybe an epilogue or preview of the sequel if you guys want it :D Sorry it took me like over a week to put this up. I've just had a horrible time being motivated to write lately. BUT! I've actually had the next to chapters written for like...Months and months...Or at least the bare bones of the chapters, so it probably won't take as long to get them up. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter...Writing fighting scenes is hard for me, as I don't want to get so overly technical with the movements and stuff. I feel like fight scenes work better in a visual medium, ya know? :P Anywho. Thanks for the reviews, you all are awesome and I heart y'all big! 3**


	34. Chapter 34

**ALICE**

I was in so much pain. I wanted to scream for help, to beg for death, but my body had completely shut down. The pain had paralyzed me. It was like fire was coursing through my veins, yet somehow I think fire wouldn't have hurt as badly as this did. I searched for a single spot- A place in my mind or on my body that might not have hurt so much, so that I could focus on the lack of pain instead of the unfathomable pain I was in. I found nothing. It occurred to me that I might be dying. I hoped so, this had to end. I wanted my last thoughts to be about my family and those I loved, but I couldn't think about anything but how much I hurt, how much I hoped death would come and take me. Because I couldn't stand anymore of this. My eyes were open and I could see people standing around me, but they were blurry like water color paintings. Did they not realize how badly this hurt? Why wouldn't they put me out of my misery. Please, please, please. End this for me. Now. I tried to verbalize the words, but I couldn't tell if I was or not. I couldn't hear anything. I couldn't feel the vibrations of sound moving up my throat and out of my mouth. I could only feel the crippling pain. I wished I could stand up and move about so that I could a way to end it all myself, since whoever it was that was around me couldn't be bothered.

And then it all went black.

There was no pain, no sound, no light.

Nothing.

My eyes shot open in one swift motion. I was dying of thirst. My throat burned. I needed something to drink. I sat up. I smelled something. It smelled better than anything I'd ever smelled. Without thinking or looking, I lunged at its source, only to be thrown back by a figure. I couldn't bother to look at who it might be, I just wanted whatever it was that smelled so good.

"Alice!" a voice growled admonishingly at me as it held me back, "Rose, Edward, a little help here?" And suddenly two more figures came and held me back. "Alice!" the voice said again, but I didn't reply. I just fought against the three people holding me back from what I wanted. "Bella, get out of here," the voice said.

Bella. I recognized the name. But I didn't care who Bella was. Whoever she was could not be as important as that smell.

"Alice!" a new voice said my name. "Rosalie, go get the blood."

Blood? What ever on earth for?

A few seconds later a blonde girl returned to the room with bags of blood. Without even thinking, I went at them and devoured their contents. I drank and drank and drank and it satiated me. I didn't understand. I looked down at my feet, where about fifteen bags, once full of blood, now lay emptied.

I looked up. Three pairs of eyes were on me. It took a moment to think, but I knew who they were. Rosalie, Edward, and Jasper. And the Bella from earlier was...Oh my god. "Did I just try to kill Bella?" I asked, breaking the silence of their stares.

Rosalie smiled, "Yeah, you did."

"What's wrong with me?" I asked, already fearing the answer.

"You're a vampire now, Alice," Jasper stepped forward and took my hand. His skin wasn't cold like it used to be. It was just a normal temperature. Then I realize that it wasn't that his skin had grown warmer, it was that mine had grown cold. Because technically, I was dead.

"Don't worry. I'm here to help you," Edward came towards me. "You don't have to live off human blood. I drink animal blood, and I'm just as strong as any other vampire. I'll teach you how to control the thirst."

"I will help her," Jasper seemed to disagree with Edward's ideas. "You're not forcing your 'vegetarianism' on her."

"I know Alice. She's not going to want to kill people to survive," Edward replied. The two began to argue as if I was not even there.

"So does this mean I'll never see my family again?" I asked. I felt that burning thirst begin to rise up in my throat again.

"Pretty much," Rosalie bluntly shrugged her shoulders. I was horrified, but growing thirstier by the second.

"But- But- My school. Heidi and Emmett. My parents. How can I just never see them again?"

"Well you can see them, but they can't see you."

I put a hand over my heart. I noticed the lack of a beat. I was not human anymore.

"Do you have anymore blood?" I asked, the sentence coming out awkwardly. It was such a foreign thing for me to say.

Jasper looked at Edward and Rosalie, "You two go get her some blood." They left.

"It will be okay, Alice. I'll be here to help you through all of this. It's quite a change, but I'll be here for you every step of the way."

"I don't want to kill people, Jasper," I said. He looked slightly upset by this declaration, or maybe more skeptical, but rubbed my arm and smiled.

"You don't have to," he said. "I'm glad I didn't lose you."

I was about to reply when Rosalie came back in with arms full of bags of blood. She left them at my feet and then exited the room again. I drank the blood and Jasper waited for me to finish. I couldn't drink it fast enough, and bits of it dribbled down my chin. I rubbed it away with the back of my hand then licked my hand clean, savoring every drop. "It's good, isn't it?" Jasper asked, a slight smile in his tone.

It was better than anything, and I couldn't imagine being without it. "It's alright," I shrugged. "So what now? Where's Bella?"

"It's probably best if you're not around Bella for awhile. You're a newborn vampire, meaning you're thirstier and more vicious than a seasoned vampire. Right now you just had some blood so you're okay, but in a few minutes you'll probably start getting a craving for blood, and within a half hour you'll probably be tearing down the walls trying to find some. You'll probably try to kill her."

"So, what? I just have to live in exile with _you_ until I can control myself?" I narrowed my eyes at Jasper, remembering the fact that I had been angry with him.

"You don't have to control yourself if you don't want to, Alice. You can kill Bella if you'd like. It doesn't matter to me. But I know you'd regret it in the long run. We don't have to live in exile. You can drink from whomever you please. Don't you see the beauty of your situation? You can do whatever you damn well want."

"Well, I don't want to be a vampire, so solve that problem, asshole!" I slightly shoved Jasper, not even using that much energy, yet I still sent him flying across the room. My eyes widened as I marveled at my newly gained strength. "Whoa," I muttered.

Suddenly, flashes raced through my mind. Visions. So many at once that I fell to the floor, overwhelmed by everything that I was seeing. They ran across my mind so quickly I barely had any time to register what I was going on. A glimpse of a blade of grass here, a shot of a girl looking over her shoulder there, the sound of laughter, followed by the sound of someone crying.

I clutched my head and closed my eyes tightly.

I had not had an intense vision in months and months. Not since May. And it was now sometime around...What? October? November?

"Alice? Are you alright?" Jasper knelt down next to me.

Images continued to run through my mind, as if making up for their absence. They all flickered too quickly for me to really comprehend them. Just random pictures of things that meant nothing to me.

The visions slowed, and I slowly opened my eyes to see Jasper looking at me in bewilderment. "My visions are back," I breathed haggardly.

"What?" he asked, confused.

"Remember how I told you about how I used to have visions of the future? They're back," I stood up.

"Really? What did you see?"

"A lot of things, but none of the visions lasted long enough for me to really understand them. But....I guess they're back now. So, awesome," I sarcastically muttered.

"Why are you so reluctant, Alice?"

"Well excuse me if the fact that I can't be around anyone I love for fear of killing them actually bothers me. Murder doesn't come naturally to some of us," I hissed at Jasper. "I would be happier being a human who doesn't have visions than a vampire that can see everything."

"Goddamn if you're going to be Edward 2.0, maybe you should just go hunt forest creatures with him."

"I seem to recall you being reluctant to the change at first, too," I reminded him of when he told me about his transformation, the family and fiancee he left behind.

"And it was stupid of me to be reluctant. I stayed away from the people I loved because I didn't want to kill them, but guess what, Alice? They still died. All my suffering and self-torture was for nothing, because with humans you can rarely put off the inevitable. They're all going to die one day anyways, so if you accidentally kill one, it's not a big deal. You're a vampire now. Killing people is what you do by definition."

"Are you guys okay in here?" Rosalie stuck her head in the door. The faint but distinct scent of blood wafted its way into the room and the burning thirst began to rage in my throat once more. Instinctively, I started towards the door, but Rosalie quickly entered the room, shutting the door behind her, then leaning against it. "Edward is getting Bella out of here. You won't have to worry about killing her much longer. Anyways," Rosalie had something in her hands. "This is what made me more...At ease, I guess, with being a vampire." She handed me the object, a mirror.

I looked in the mirror. The face that looked back at me was not my own. My once slightly sun-tanned skin was perfectly and flawlessly white. My eyes, my favorite feature, a once vibrant green, were now a deep scarlet. My dark hair was quite the contrast against my skin. I was beautiful in an unsettling way. I looked deadly, but alluring. I liked the way I looked, yet this new type of beauty about me did not make me feel better. I wondered how shallow Rosalie must be that the fact that she was now a femme fatale made up for the fact that she killed people to survive.

"This isn't me," I handed the mirror back to Rosalie, the thirst was really starting to get uncomfortable now. "I'm thirsty."

Rosalie looked perplexed by my disinterest in my beauty. I inhaled deeply, hoping to catch a whiff of Bella's blood. I was torturing myself. I didn't want to smell her blood, to kill her, but at the same time...How could I not? It was such a sweet, metallic scent. The memory of the taste- Sharp and biting on the back and sides of my tongue made it impossible to resist. I shoved Rosalie away from the door. I had to find Bella. I could just bite her a little bit, just drink a tiny bit of her blood. I wouldn't kill her. Just a little bit...

But Rosalie grabbed my hair and pulled me back by it. I waited for the pain to come, yet it never did. "I'll get you some blood. Christ," Rosalie shoved me towards Jasper and left the room.

"Alice," Jasper's voice had grown more gentle. "I know this isn't what you wanted for yourself. But this is what you are now. And if you want to give Edward's way of life a go, I'll try to help you."

"You'll give up human blood, too?" I asked, my voice hopeful. Jasper looked shocked that I suggested such a thing, and I knew that had not been what he had meant.

"I'll see what I can do," he replied, and I knew he was just trying to keep me happy. "But, anyways. The sun is down. Let's go outside. Maybe we can go hunting, or something."

"Blood first," Rosalie was back with a crate full of bags of blood.

"Where do you get all this blood?"

"Don't ask."

"Hey, I'm taking her outside," Jasper said to Rosalie, "Make sure Bella isn't around." Rosalie nodded and left.

"So how long before I can see Bella? Or even my family?" I asked before tearing into a bag of blood.

Jasper furrowed his brow. "Honestly, Alice. It's really best not to torture yourself with seeing them. I mean, not seeing them in torturous, yeah. But I think being only a few feet from them yet not being able to touch them or see them is much worse. Time passes really quickly for vampires. They'll be dead before you know it. Just pretend they died a little sooner."

"Wow. Sensitivity is so not your thing," I said in amazement. "And you faked it so well when I was human."

"I wasn't faking it," Jasper replied. "But I'm just being bluntly honest with you here, Alice. You're a big girl and a fucking vampire now for Christ's sakes. I don't have to sugar coat things for you."

Warm, red blood poured down my throat and down the corners of my mouth. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Jasper watching me intently. I smiled to myself as a thought occurred to me. I licked the blood from my lips and mouth and grinned at Jasper. "Are we going outside now?"

"Yeah, yeah," Jasper replied, startled as so I had woken him from his reverie. "But, to answer your original question about when you can see humans without killing them, it varies from vampire to vampire. For some it could be as little as a few months, others it could be a year or two. Just depends on natural resistance plus will power."

Jasper led me outside.

The world looked strange. It was obviously not daylight, but I could see as clearly as if it had been. It looked as if someone had taken the sun and placed a violet lens over it. The sounds of the world were also much louder. Well, maybe not louder. Just...The world was noisier than I recalled. But I could quickly put the sound in the back of my mind if I so chose.

"So, what do you think?"

"I think night vision is pretty nice," I ceded this small victory to Jasper. I decided to set aside my anger for the time being. "I assume the world in the daylight is different as well?"

"Just much more...Alive. Colors are pretty intense in sunlight."

"I'm thirsty. Again," I said. I was getting annoyed with myself. It would be nice to be able to look at this new world without the nagging desire for blood constantly in the back of my mind.

Jasper was understanding, though, and he helped me hunt for an animal. We eventually found and caught a deer. Deer blood was okay. Definitely not as satisfying or delicious as human blood. It paled in comparison.

I sat on the ground, my legs spread in front of me, the deer's corpse lying on the ground nearby. I felt marginally better, but empty for the most part. Jasper stood a few feet off, allowing me space to feed. 'To feed.' God, I sounded like an animal myself. It was gross. I pondered the feeling of being full but unfulfilled, as I had been left feeling by the deer's blood.

"Jasper," I looked up at him and cursed myself for what I was about to ask, "Can we find a human?"

**A/N: Who fails at finishing this by Jan 13th? I do. Rawrrr. I thought I'd get it all up, but I went to the Gulf of Mexico for like a week and was no where near the mental place of mind to write, so I didn't write anything. And then school started back and BOOOO life. And I feel this was kinda short. Next chapter will be the final chapter, and then there's an epilogue. Anyways. Review :) Also, the sequel to this will probably be rated M. It won't be like crazy sex scenes every chapter or anything, but there will be sex scenes. I plan to read more erotica to get a better handle on writing sex scenes, cause as of right now I'm not really confident in my erotic writing abilities, which is why this story was mostly T, lol. I want to keep things classy, but I also want for them to be sexy, so Anais Nin and I are going to be BFF soon, lol. Anyways. Later tater tots :) Please, please, please review. Means so much to me :) And sry for any typos, it's 3 AM and I have school stuff so this was uber rushed :s**


	35. Chapter 35

**A/N: Just a heads up, I decided not to do a whole huge epilogue as another chapter. So this is the final chapter, with an epilogue at the end. And so this entry is really quite long, or at least relative to my other chapters, so be prepared :p**

**BELLA**

I could never go back.

Alice was a vampire.

Or would be one...In about two days. Right now she was a human thrashing about in agonizing pain on the bed.

I couldn't go back to Chicago. I couldn't go back to Forks. That was all in my past. Back when vampires and werewolves and vampire hunters didn't exist. It was hard to believe a time like that ever was.

"Bella, you shouldn't be in here," Edward said to me. "When she completely transforms, she's going to go straight at you."

"Isn't there anything you can do for her?" I looked at the vampires in the room. None of them replied.

Jasper had taken us to what was apparently his hide-out in Mississippi. Alice was lying on the bed, in the middle of transformation, or at least at the most painful part. "She should be settling down soon. The pain stops for awhile, and you're just sort of..." Edward tried to explain something I knew I had no way of actually comprehending. "Non-existent. She'll be completely silent for about a day, and then she'll wake up and you're going to be her first top."

"Then I have time to stay with her," I argued. I'd come all this way for Alice. I couldn't leave her. I sat next to her bed as she writhed, wishing there was a way to fix her, or at least put her out of her misery.

Time passed. Rosalie and Edward came and went from the room, while only Jasper and I stayed by her side every minute. I didn't remember the last time I had slept. I looked at Jasper as he sat on the other side of the bed. I hated him. This was his fault. I didn't believe for a split second that he was in love with her. They'd known each other for a month, give or take a few days. There was no way that genuine, healthy love had sprung from a captor-hostage relationship. But he insisted he cared about her. I didn't know why he even bothered.

Alice had entered the silent stage of her transformation. I only had a few hours left with her. I held her hand, now cool to the touch. Jasper paced around the room. "Are you sorry for what you did?" I asked him, making this the first time I had ever directly and personally spoken to him in a one-on-one setting.

He looked up at me, apparently I had broken him from deep though, "What?" he asked as if he had not heard me.

"Are you sorry that you kidnapped her?"

"There's no point in being sorry about anything. What's done is done, and there's nothing I can do to change any of it. So if you think you're going to get me to beat myself up over this, you're wrong."

"I think if you really loved a person, you'd regret ending their life."

"Actually, I think Edward had more of a hand in that than I did," Jasper spat. "I don't recall being the one feeding from her."

I rolled my eyes and looked away from him. I looked at Alice lying on the bed, her eyes closed and body perfectly still. I had come all this way for her. And she was, for all intents and purposes, dead. I couldn't bring her back to her family like this. Maybe we could wait until she could be around humans without killing them and get her some contacts and pass her off as a human. Some concealer could cover up the under eye circles she'd get when she'd be hungry. She could just say she was obsessive about preventing skin cancer and wore tons of sunscreen and that's why she was so pale and never went in the sun. I mean, Edward had fooled me and Alice for the months he had been living with us. Surely we could fool her family.

I stood up and walked around the room to stretch my legs. I went and looked out the window. It was getting to be dark now. I heard Edward and Rosalie enter the room. I sighed and smiled to mysefl. At least I had Edward.

Suddenly I felt cool hands around my throat, but they were quickly pried off. "Alice!" Jasper said scoldingly, "Rose, Edward, a little help here?" I looked to see both Edward and Rosalie having to help Jasper hold Alice back. It was a strange sight- It took all three of them to keep tiny Alice from getting at me. "Alice!" Jasper hissed at her once more. "Bella, get out of here," he glanced at me.

I quickly obeyed, leaving the room and going outside to get some fresh air. Clark sat on the front porch. "She done changing?" he asked. I nodded, taking in what had just happened. I'd barely had time to register the fact that Alice had just tried to kill me. The quick glance I'd gotten at her eyes- It was chilling. I wasn't looking at the Alice I knew. I was looking into the eyes of a stranger, a stranger who wanted nothing more than to drain the life from me. There hadn't even been a hint of recognition in her face. "What are we going to do?" Clark looked at me.

_We._ I forgot that I'd uprooted Clark. He was my responsibility now. He did have sisters who were probably worried to death about him. I wondered what the police had thought when they found Clark's entire family dead in the basement of their house. I wondered if his sisters held out hope for his survival. They probably did. Why wouldn't they? Why the hell did I bring him with us? God, I could be so incredibly stupid sometimes.

"Do you have like grandparents or something?" I asked. "Do you want to go back?"

"I have grandparents, but how can I go back and live like a regular twelve year old boy when I know all this is out in the world? I knew before, but I hadn't seen any of it, so I didn't really know what I was missing. I don't want to go back to my old life."

"It's selfish of you to do that to your grandparents and your sisters, Clark," I looked at him as I sat next to him on the porch. "They're going to go the rest of their lives wondering if you're dead or alive, and if you're alive if you're happy or not, or in danger or not. You can't force them to live with something like that everyday." My voice was low, passionless.

"So you're just going to ship me back?" Clark was getting upset.

"Don't you love them?"

"...Yes."

"Then you can't just disappear of the face of the earth, Clark! It's not fair to them," I momentarily became more insistent before I went back to feeling lifeless. I was exhausted. I hadn't slept or eaten at least two days. And Alice was a vampire. Great.

"Fine," Clark scowled.

"I'll find some sort of, I don't know, hunter society or something for you. So you can continue training, if that's what you want."

Clark visibly softened at this idea and shrugged. "Okay," he replied. "What am I supposed to say to people when they ask me what happened?"

"We'll think of something later," I replied, not in the mood to put the mental energy into anything.

"Are you okay, Bella?" Edward came out and joined us on the porch. I smiled at him.

"I'm alive," I laughed. "So yeah, I'm good." Edward leaned down and kissed me, bringing me to a genuine smile. He sat next to me, our arms linked, his hand on my knee. It sent shivers through my body and I thought about how if this were any other guy, we would be in the constant sex phase of the relationship. I was sure Edward and I would get there, just after all this shit was settled.

"So, have you thought about what you're going to do now?" he looked at me. I furrowed my brow.

"What do you mean? It's not like I have a lot of options."

"You can't stay with Alice, Bella. It's not practical. It's going to be awhile before she'll be able to keep from attacking you."

"I can't go back to my old life, either, Edward," I replied, slightly angry that he was suggesting I could.

"So...What? You just want to roam around with me?"

"Doesn't sound half bad," I joked, but Edward frowned. "Do you not want me to?"

"How old are you, Bella?"

"You know how old I am." He continued to look at me. "Fine. I'm twenty-one."

"And you've accomplished all you hope to accomplish as a human? Seen everyone you've loved enough? Because if you hope to just roam around with me, your life as a human is over, whether or not you're a vampire."

I was silent as I turned over the facts in my head. I was only twenty-one. There was still a lot I'd like to do as a human, things you couldn't do with a forged identity. I could only rise up so far in society before one day someone would check my papers and discover them to be fraudulent. "But you live like a human," I insisted to him.

"I move around ever two or three years, and after this little experience with Alice and Jasper, I will never befriend another human. You'll never get to be settled, and I know right now the idea of hanging out with me all the time is a fun idea, but after awhile, you will get tired of it. I promise you that."

"You just don't want me," I replied.

"Oh, you know that isn't true, Bella," Edward gave me an annoyed look.

"I'm getting out of here before this gets ugly," Clark announced as he stood up and went inside.

Edward waited until Clark was inside to resume speaking. "You know that's not true. I want you more than I've ever wanted anything on every level imaginable."

"Then why are you trying so hard to convince me to go back to Chicago? If you want me, why don't you want me around?"

I could sense Edward was getting angry with me, but I didn't care. "Because you're too short sighted right now. You're a human, you don't have a sense of time, you can't comprehend certain things simply because your frame of reference is so...What I'm saying is..." He couldn't find words. He sighed sharply before resuming. "What I'm saying is, right now, I know the idea of just globetrotting with me is a good one. But eventually, things will slip back, globetrotting will come to be normal and mundane. It won't be fun, it won't be exotic, it will just be a hassle. It will mean that just as soon as you start to get used to a certain place, you'll be completely torn away from there and forced to start all over. You'll get annoyed. And you'll regret the fact that you gave up your family and your education and your own life just so you could run around with me."

I took in what he said. I thought about my dad and my mom. Really thought about them. Not just some cursory musing, but a real, deep, earnest thought. It had been the first time I'd allowed myself to do so in a long while. Immediately there was a pull on my chest, and I felt the tears spring to my eyes. I missed them so much. I missed my mom absent-mindedly burning every meal she'd ever attempted to make, and the dinners she'd take us to after surrendering to the kitchen. I missed my dad awkwardly trying to deal with the problems of a teenage girl, and the hugs he'd give me when words failed him. It was strange how their flaws often resulted in some of my favorite parts of them.

I thought about my friends. Jacob, Emmett, Tanya, Angela. Maybe even Leah. I wanted nothing more than to talk a walk with Jacob in Grant Park. He had always been so fiercely loyal to me. He was the best friend I ever had. I wanted to see him. No, not just to see him, but to talk to him and wrap my arms around his neck. I knew that with a life with Edward, I could possibly see my loved ones from afar. But that would never, ever be enough.

Then even disregarding my family and friends, there was my own life. I was almost done with undergrad. I wanted to go to graduate school. If I just gave it all up now, I would feel as if all the education I'd ever had would've just been a waste.

"I'll need time to think about this," I said to him as I rested my head on his shoulder. I stared into the night. "Because I want to be with you, Edward. But I also want me, if that makes sense. I mean, if I go back to my old life, why couldn't you come with me?"

"I have to help Alice. With Jasper, she's just going to end up like him. And I can't, I won't let that happen. I could visit you from time to time...Secretly, of course."

I then thought of what it would be like to go back. They would want to know where Edward and Alice were. I didn't know if I was strong enough not to break under their questioning. What would I tell them? It seemed too complicated to be worth it. Running away with Edward would be so much easier.

And I remembered a fact that was now always on my mind in some degree- I was no longer the owner of my soul.

Rosalie came outside. "Alice is going through blood ridiculously fast," she announced. "You won't be seeing her anytime soon."

"Great," I mumbled.

"But, I was thinking. I mean, Clark can be useful in this situation, you know?" Rosalie wiggled her way between Edward and myself.

"In what way?" Edward looked curiously at her.

"Well, he has all that hunter gear, right? Well, he could essentially train Alice not to feed from humans. Like when you spray water on a cat that misbehaves. Every time she slips up, he could get her with silver or something. Not enough to really hurt her, but just enough to sting."

"I don't know if conditioning is going to work on a newborn vampire. Seems a little too...Weak human psychology. Plus, he does that enough, she'll eventually kill him in his sleep."

"I thought it was a good idea, anyway," Rosalie rolled her eyes at Edward's skepticism.

"I'm taking Bella somewhere where she can get some sleep and food. She can't go in that house with Alice being like that," Edward stood up and extended his hand to me.

We stopped by a local diner. I had French toast and bacon.

As Edward carried me in his arms to an unknown location, there was an air of finality to everything. I hadn't yet decided what I was going to do, but this felt different than before. Maybe I was just ridiculously sleep-deprived. I didn't know.

We took a motel room without bothering to ask, Edward simply pushing the door open. He carried me into the room and laid me on the bed. We laid on our sides facing each other. I wanted to stay awake longer. I wanted to talk to him more. But in the end, fatigue won, and I was unable to keep my eyes open.

I fell into the deepest sleep I'd had in a long while, my fingers laced in Edward's.

When I woke up, Edward was not there, but a note from him was. He'd gone to get food, for both himself and me. I sat up and yawned. It was dark outside. I assume I had slept an entire day, as it had been dark when I'd gone to bed, and I knew I had slept more than eight hours. I turned on the television, perusing the channels a bit before turning it off and deciding to hit the shower.

Edward was still gone when I finished my shower. I didn't like it. Typically, I didn't terribly mind being alone. But being alone right now really only left me with one option- Thinking about what I was going to do. Stay with Edward- Who I had only known since May and never really be with my family again. Or go back to my family for at least a little while and see Edward only once in a while and in secret. On paper it seemed like such an easy decision. Who dumps their family for a guy they've only known a few months? Yet I was still struggling to choose.

He and I had been through a lot together. We were close in a way that was beyond words and on an almost spiritual level before we'd even gone through the perils of the mythical world together. But after the past month, Edward and I shared a bond that was totally unique to us. It was something I would never share with my family or Jacob. Although, it worked in the reverse as well. The bonds I had with my parents and friends were forged through years of work and love, and weren't easily replicated.

It was at times like this I wish I had Jacob or Alice or even one of my parents to help me decide. So I simply had to imagine what they'd say. But of course they'd want me to pick them. And Edward wanted me to pick them. But that was more out of a fear of me getting tired of him than him genuinely wanting me to go back to Chicago.

Then a thought crossed my mind that almost made me feel sick for even entertaining it. I cared for Edward, yes. But there were other fish in the sea. Surely it was possible to connect with someone else in the natural and deep way I had with Edward. Maybe someone human, who I wouldn't have to pick over my loved ones. But I couldn't imagine it. I'd dated plenty of men. Edward was a first. Edward was different, and I knew it from the moment I'd first locked eyes with him. There was no denying that he was one of a kind. But even if he was one of a kind, surely he wasn't the only man I would or could ever be happy with. Then again, how would I ever be happy with another man knowing someone out there made me happier?

I ran my hands through my damp hair and covered my face with my hands as I sat in a chair near the window. I wondered where Edward was. He'd been gone for a long while. At least three hours.

Then there was the whole thing with Sophie to consider. She might come for me, she might not. If she did come for me...What would happen to me? I hadn't asked, because truthfully, I didn't want to know at the time. I didn't want anything to cause me to chicken out and not accomplish my goal: Saving Edward and Rosalie, therefore saving Alice. Worst case scenario: I died when Sophie took what was cosmologically legally hers. What if she came sooner rather than later? Would I want to have spent my last few days, weeks, months, or years with my family? At least if I was living a regular life, I could accomplish more than if I was constantly relocating with Edward. But then Sophie said she might never come for me, anyway.

_Goddamnit!_ I threw the ice bucket that was on the table next to my chair. It hit the wall with a thud and fell to the floor. I didn't want to choose. Although, I guess this was the nature of these things. If a decision were easy, I guessed it wouldn't have mattered for much.

Just then, the door knob jiggled, and I hoped it wasn't a hotel manager or a cleaning lady. But it was Edward. The sight of him made me feel both ecstatic and sick.

"Hey," he came inside and gave me a kiss, "I see you're finally awake."

"Yeah. I have been for awhile. What took you so long?"

"Well," he said as he set down a bag of food on the table, "First, I got myself some food. Then I had to get some for Alice. So I got some blood from a blood bank and took it to Jasper's, only to discover that he's, uh, introduced her to his dietary methods. So he and I had an argument over that, then I talked to Alice, and convinced her to let me help her through this. Then I got you some food. And here I am," he smiled as he gave me another kiss, followed by another on my neck, his hands starting to wander.

"Wait," I resisted the temptation to let this go further. "Alice...Alice killed someone?"

"Yeah. But it was just a one time thing. I'm going to help her learn to control herself," Edward replied. I could tell he was upset by it as well, but was trying to play it off. "She's a newborn, Bella. The fact that she's only killed one person is impressive. On my first day as a vampire, I probably killed ten. But this is why I can't stay with you in Chicago. Alice needs me."

I knew he was right.

I pulled his hands from my backside and held them. "I think I've decided what I'm going to do," I led him to the bed, where we both sat down.

"So? What is it going to be?" he pulled his hands from mine and placed one on my leg.

"Just give me four years. Let me finish undergrad and do graduate school. Then I can tell my family I'm leaving. I'll tell them that I'm gone for good, but not to worry about me, or to look for me. That I'm safe, you know? Then I want to roam around with you and Alice. But, to make it easier," I paused as I looked at Edward. He was hanging on my words. "I want you to turn me. In four years, I want you to turn me into a vampire, too. And you can help me the way you're helping Alice. And you won't have to carry me everywhere."

"Bella," Edward looked uneasy, "I don't mind carrying you everywhere."

I rolled my eyes, "You know it will be easier for me to go with you all if I am a vampire, too. I'll have my master's degree, and won't be considered a missing person once I cut off ties with my family but assure them I'm alive and well. No one will be looking for me, and when we travel from place to place, I'll have a degree worth enough to get me a decent job so we can make money."

"Vampires don't really need money."

"It would make life easier, don't you agree? Especially for you, considering you're not in the business of using violence against humans to get what you want," I pushed.

"Bella, I don't want to. Traveling the globe with me in four years- Great. I love that idea. But you saw me with Alice. I'm pretty sure it's my fault she's dead. I don't have enough control to change you."

"You have four years to practice."

Edward frowned.

"This is what I want, Edward. And if I for some reason change my mind, well, I have four years to figure that out. This isn't something that's just going to happen spur of the moment."

He sighed. "Okay, Bella. If that's what you want, I'll turn you."

"Thank you," I smiled. "This way, I get the best of both worlds. I get to say goodbye to my friends and family on my own terms and in my own timing, and make sure they are all at peace with everything. And I'll get to finish my education. Then I'll get to be with you."

Edward softly laughed. "You're quite brilliant."

"I know," I leaned over to him and kissed him on the cheek.

"So I'll take you back to Chicago tomorrow?" he asked as he inched closer to me.

"Yes. But first I want to see Alice."

"I don't know if that's...Possible. She's pretty, um, bloodthirsty right now. Plus, we have to think of what you will tell everyone when you get home. They'll want to know where Alice and me are," Edward reminded me. "You wouldn't be lying if you said we were dead."

"Yeah," I thought for a moment. "But I doubt they will be satisfied with me just telling them that you all are dead. They're going to want to know where I've been, who took us, how I know you all are dead. I can lie for awhile, Edward, but I don't honestly think I'll be able to keep up with it forever. I can see them putting me under so much pressure I just break and tell them everything."

Edward looked alarmed at this. "Yeah, that would not be good." He bit his bottom lip. He seemed worried. "Keep the story simple so it's easy to remember."

"Maybe I should just feign ignorance, you know? Say you and I entered the building, went up the apartment, someone hit you over the head, then me. Then I woke up in a room with no windows, so I never really knew where the building was, and you and Alice were with me. And they tortured us for weeks until they killed you two. Then they randomly knocked me out and I woke up alive and free on the outskirts of Chicago. And the captors always covered their faces so I never saw them. That way I don't know where I was or who had me or where your bodies are," I posed a scenario. I'd thought about this before, I realized.

"That's good, Bella. Scarily good," Edward scratched his head. "Of course, if you were put up to a polygraph test or anything, you'd fail miserably. And other than being a little underweight, you certainly don't look to have been tortured for a month. But...I think I have a solution for all that."

I smiled. Those were two holes in my plan that I hadn't been sure of how to deal with. I inhaled deeply and gave a sigh. I looked around the room. "Well, if we've got everything figured out, which I think we do," I leaned in closer to Edward, my face inches from his. "Then I think we should make use of this room while we have it." I gave him a mischievous grin as I shoved him to his back and climbed on top of him. He recognized my intentions and smiled back at me. He grabbed the back of my neck and pulled me down into a kiss.

We made love for what would be the last time for awhile. There was a desperate urgency behind each kiss and touch. I memorized every detail about him. The way his hands felt on my hips. The cool touch of his lips against my breasts. His breath on my neck. The way his hair felt in my hands. The way he tasted. How our bodies felt slamming into one another.

After we had finished and had time to collect ourselves and recover, I took advantage of his post-sex mood to convince him to let me see Alice. I used Rosalie's idea of using Clark as a deterrent from killing me. Edward admitted to me that Rosalie had presented the idea to Clark already, and he was going to be staying with them for the remainder of Alice's training.

We arrived to Jasper's a few minutes after sunrise. Clark was sitting on the porch, as he typically did. He smiled when he saw me. "I'm not going back," he said defiantly, "They want me to help Alice not kill people."

I rolled my eyes and smiled at him. "Well come help her not kill me. I want to say good-bye to her."

"What? Where are you going?"

"I'm going home. Everything I told you yesterday about not being selfish and not hurting your loved ones, it all applies to me, too," I replied.

"I'll be right back," Edward went inside, making sure Alice would not be in a position to pounce on me, "Clark, you come with me."

A few minutes later, they called me inside. Alice sat on a bar stool, Clark standing behind her, Jasper and Rosalie on her sides, and Edward stood slightly in front of and to the side of me. Alice's eyes were red. Really red. Was it possible for them to actually glow? That's what it seemed like. Her skin was snow white. Something about her was frightening. There was something about her that was not there before. The urge to kill.

"Hey, Alice," I smiled.

"Hello," she said, giving a strained smile.

"I just wanted to come by and say goodbye. I'm going back to Chicago for awhile."

"Must be nice for you," Alice replied. I furrowed my brow momentarily as I thought I caught some sarcasm in her voice. "I mean, thanks. It takes guts to come near me right now."

"Yeah, well," I rubbed the back of my neck, "You're my best friend. And we'll see each other again. And I'm going to miss you, Alice. And," I felt tears forming in my eyes. How humiliating. "And I'm so sorry for all of this. I love you, Alice. If I could trade places with you, I would. Please don't hate me for this."

Alice paused and just looked at me as I blinked back the tears. I had managed to keep my voice from breaking. "It's okay, Bella. Stuff happens. I guess. Just...Make sure Heidi and Emmett and my parents are okay. Like please help them, I don't know if they can forget me all together, but help them move on, you know?"

I sniffled and nodded my head as I swallowed. "Well," I looked around. "I guess I can't hug you, can I?"

"Definitely not," Edward replied for her. "I can hear her thoughts."

"And I can feel her thirst," Jasper said.

"She's barely holding back as of right now," Edward stated. I looked at her closer and saw that she was shaking.

"Okay," I replied. This felt so cold. I felt empty when I looked at Alice. But I gave her a smile and a wave. "I'll see you later, Alice."

"Bye, Bella," she waved back. I started out the door, Edward standing behind me. "Take a shot for me, Bells!" I heard her yell out to me once I was outside. I laughed despite my somber mood. That was the Alice I remembered, not the restrained, reserved killer sitting in the house. I wondered why she had saved that quip for once I was out of her presence. Maybe she had just let her guard down.

Edward scooped me up in his arms as we started to make the long run back to Chicago.

After running through the woods and avoiding populated areas all day, and only making two stops, we finally arrived to the outskirts of Chicago at twilight. Edward set me down on the ground. In the distance I saw a gas station. That would be were I would stagger in begging for help and a telephone. Edward and I both gazed at it, knowing that this was it.

"When can you first stop by to visit?" I asked, missing him already.

"I don't know. I'll call you, somehow. I'm going to try to visit at least every other month, or every month, hopefully," Edward said. "I just have to make sure I can leave Alice alone with Jasper."

Silence settled over us again.

"I love you, Bella," Edward stated plainly.

"I know. And I love you, too."

**Epilogue**

I stood in the bathroom of the Brandon home. After wandering into the gas station, I called the police. They called my parents. After questioning and a medical evaluation, I was released to go home. Everyone unanimously agreed that my apartment was not safe, as that was where I had been kidnapped. And since my parents did not have a permanent residence in Chicago, Alice's parents offered me a place to stay while the police investigated and went over my statement.

Telling Alice's parents and Heidi and Emmett that she was dead was the hardest thing I'd ever done. I felt separated from my body as I told them. As I watched the expressions on their faces go from that of cautious hope to outright heartbreak. I felt like I was going to throw up as they all began to cry. I didn't know what to do. So I just stood there and kept telling them I was sorry. I was useless.

It had been a day and a half since Edward and I had said our farewells at the edge of the woods. I wanted him here with me. Being around so much depression and tears was wearing me down.

I stood in the bathroom. It was around ten in the evening. I surveyed my body. Rosalie had tagged along on trip, taking us to her witch near Chicago. After some convincing, the witch agreed to do two things for me. One, mutilate my body so that I did look like I had been tortured for a month. The process had been painful and felt like it took awhile, but Edward said it was no longer than maybe ten seconds. I looked at my wounds in the mirror. I would definitely have a few scars left from this, but hopefully nothing too bad. I was still waifish and gaunt, but was steadily gaining back weight. Secondly, the witch had cast a curse which would help me stick to my story and be able to pass any lie-screenings the police might throw at me.

I brushed my teeth, washed my face, and put on some creme designed to keep the wounds from leaving horrible scars, and flipped off the light. I went to the guest room where I slept. Across the room from my bed was a chair, where either Jacob or my dad had kept watch over me every night. I told them I didn't need them to babysit me, but it was useless. They were hellbent on protecting me from whatever it was that took me the first time.

Seeing my parents at the police station had been surreal. I had changed so much since the last time I had seen them. Not only had I changed, but the entire world as I knew it had changed. It was like meeting people from a dream. A dream that I'd had a million times and new perfectly, but a dream nonetheless. My parents were real. I'd known it when I was gone, and I'd felt it on some level. But seeing them for the first time caused a wave of emotions to hit me that I had not been prepared for. I had been ecstatically happy in a way I didn't know possible. I'd known I would be happy to see them, but not only was I happy, I was grateful and relieved. It was like I had been holding my breath for a month and I could finally breathe.

Jacob had hugged me so tightly that it hurt the open wounds on my arms and back, but I didn't care. Even Leah had given me a hug. I never thought I would be so glad to see Leah. But seeing her and Jacob together made me feel better. Maybe I had changed and the world had changed, but Jacob and Leah had not. They gave me steady footing to go back to the day to day life I'd be experiencing as a human.

I got under the sheets of my bed and laid my head against the pillow. Tonight was my dad's night to watch over me while I slept. "Dad, seriously," I said as he entered the room, "No. Please, let me sleep on my own. I'll let you know if I need you."

"Now, Bella, you have to see it from my perspective."

"And you have to see it from mine," I replied. "Please. I just want to sleep alone. I haven't been alone since I got home. I need some alone time. Time to think and process things. A lot of shit happened."

My dad looked reluctant, but eventually agreed. "But you yell if you need anything at all, you hear?" I nodded. He gave me a kiss on the forehead and smiled. He left the room and I laid in bed and sighed.

Sleep had come easily enough the first two nights I'd slept here. I'd usually fallen asleep within minutes. Tonight, though, I found it difficult. I tossed and turned for an hour and was still no closer to sleep.

I heard two taps on my window. At first I was scared. What could it be? But then my mind went to who could it be, and I was hopeful rather than frightened.

I flew out of bed and shoved away the curtain to see Edward crouching on the ledge of the window. I quickly opened the window and he silently fell into the room. Without speaking a word, I stood on my tip-toes and kissed him as he put his arms around me.

"What are you doing here?" I said breathlessly in a whisper.

"I just wanted to make sure everything was fine before we all took off to Europe," Edward said quietly. "I came by each night, but someone was always in here with you. Tonight you were alone, so I figured I could try. But are you doing okay?"

I nodded. "I'm good. I made the right decision. Seeing my parents faces and being around Jacob again. I know I made the right choice."

"Are you sure you'll still want my lifestyle in four years?" Edward asked, his tone seeming to hope I would not.

Smiling I replied, "I'll always want you, Edward. You don't have to worry about that."

He smiled back. "Someone's coming this way," he said after listening to the silence. "I'll see you in a month or so?"

"Yes. I probably won't be living here or at the old apartment anymore, so come by the bookstore. I'll probably still work there."

"Sounds like a plan," he breathed before kissing me. "Love you, Bella," he said as he slipped back out the window.

"Love you, too," I whispered back. I watched his figure disappear in to the cold Chicago night air.

I eventually closed the window and went back to lie in bed.

In the darkness, I still felt the cool of Edward's lips. My heart was still beating quickly. Fleeting moments such as these would be all I would have for the next four years. But then we would have forever.

It was worth the wait.

**END**

**A/N: Wow. Finally. Haha. This might be the first thing I've ever finished, lol. Sorry this ****was so long, but I just wanted to get everything finished and done with and stop dragging it out, hehe. Anyways. Thanks to everyone who read this and to those who reviewed...Reviews were big motivators. As for the sequel to this...I'm really burnt out on Twilight and fanfiction in general, so it will probably be around May when I start the sequel. So if you are interested, uh, i guess put me on your author alert or favorite author's list or something so you'll be alerted when I start that. ANYWHO...Thanks everyone. Hope you enjoyed :3**


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